Loggerhead sea turtles nest on Mediterranean beaches and face bycatch mortality in longlines and trawls. Their welfare requires protection both at sea and on nesting beaches.
Loggerhead bycatch on longlines involves hooking — often in the throat or esophagus — followed by drowning or prolonged struggle. Even turtles released alive from hooks often die from hook injuries or the stress of capture. Hatchlings disoriented by light pollution die of dehydration or predation before reaching the sea. Plastic ingestion causes progressive gut blockage and prolonged malnutrition. Each of these welfare harms has a known technical or behavioural solution, making prevention a question of will rather than knowledge.