Marine turtles are accidentally captured and killed in fishing gear globally — targeted mitigation measures can dramatically reduce this welfare and conservation harm.
Marine turtle bycatch causes welfare harms ranging from drowning to physical injury from hooks and entanglement. Turtles that survive capture may suffer internal injuries from hook swallowing or external injuries from net entanglement that impair diving, feeding, and reproduction over the long term. The welfare harm is compounded by the conservation significance: turtles are slow to reach reproductive maturity and produce few offspring relative to their lifespan, so each individual has high conservation as well as welfare value. Circle hooks, TED requirements, and reduced soak times for longline gear can reduce turtle capture dramatically. These measures are technically proven and economically viable — the barrier to implementation is regulatory compliance and enforcement, not technology.