All seven sea turtle species are threatened, and fisheries bycatch remains a major cause of mortality and injury. Understanding the welfare impact of bycatch and how to reduce it is essential for turtle conservation and welfare.
Sea turtle bycatch causes acute and severe welfare harms. Turtles caught in longlines may be dragged through the water for hours before the line is hauled, causing exhaustion, drowning, and physical injury from the hook and line. Entanglement in nets deprives turtles of the ability to surface and breathe, causing rapid hypoxia and drowning. Turtles that survive bycatch and are returned to the sea may die later from injuries or exhaustion. Despite this, fisheries monitoring and bycatch documentation are inadequate in many parts of the world, meaning the true scale of sea turtle bycatch welfare impact is underestimated. TEDs and circle hooks are proven, cost-effective bycatch reduction tools that protect turtles without significant catch loss.