Wildlife

Sea Turtle Welfare and Bycatch

All seven sea turtle species are threatened or endangered, with bycatch in commercial fisheries being a leading cause of mortality alongside nesting habitat loss.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are killed as bycatch each year
Longline fisheries for tuna and swordfish pose the greatest bycatch risk
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) reduce bycatch by up to 97% when used correctly
Climate change is feminising sea turtle populations through sand temperature effects
Leatherback turtles can dive to 1,000 m and consume large quantities of jellyfish

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtles caught on longlines experience prolonged struggling, oxygen depletion and exhaustion. Entanglement in ghost fishing gear causes slow drowning. Ingestion of plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish causes intestinal obstruction and starvation. Temperature-dependent sex determination makes sea turtle populations vulnerable to climate-driven sex ratio skew.

What You Can Do

Support fisheries that use circle hooks and TEDs to reduce sea turtle bycatch
Choose sustainably certified seafood that verifies low turtle bycatch rates
Participate in beach cleanups to remove plastic that sea turtles may ingest
Support sea turtle nesting beach protection programmes through donations