Sea Turtle Welfare: Threats and Conservation

All seven species of sea turtle are threatened or endangered. They face welfare harms from plastic ingestion, fishing bycatch, nesting beach disturbance, and illegal harvest.

Key Facts

All seven sea turtle species are listed as vulnerable, threatened, or critically endangered
Sea turtles mistake floating plastic for jellyfish and suffer intestinal blockages
An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are caught as fishing bycatch annually
Artificial lighting on nesting beaches disorients hatchlings who navigate by moonlight
Turtle eggs are illegally harvested for consumption across many range countries

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtles experience suffering from multiple human-caused threats simultaneously. Plastic ingestion causes internal blockage, malnutrition, and buoyancy disorders that prevent diving and feeding. Bycatch victims may be injured before being discarded, often dying slowly. Nest disturbance by vehicles, artificial lighting, and egg harvest destroys reproductive success for animals that take decades to mature. Each surviving adult represents an enormous ecological investment that welfare and conservation share in protecting.

What You Can Do

Reduce plastic use to lower ocean plastic available to marine life
Support sea turtle nesting beach conservation programmes
Choose seafood from fisheries certified as using turtle-excluder devices
Never purchase sea turtle products or eggs
Support tourism that views sea turtles responsibly without disturbing nesting