Sea Turtle Bycatch Reduction and Fishing Gear

Sea turtles drown in fishing gear across all major ocean basins, making bycatch reduction devices and gear modifications among the most urgent welfare interventions in marine fisheries management.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are accidentally caught in fisheries annually worldwide
Longline fishing hooks cause deep injuries when swallowed and lead to internal organ damage
Circle hooks reduce sea turtle bycatch by up to 90 percent compared to J-hooks without reducing fish catch
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls reduce turtle capture rates dramatically
Leatherback sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to longline gear due to their deep-diving behavior
Post-release mortality is common in sea turtles that appear to survive gear encounters
The InterAmerican Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles requires bycatch reduction measures

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtle bycatch causes welfare harm ranging from acute injuries to prolonged drowning deaths. A sea turtle hooked on a longline experiences the hook penetrating soft tissue of the mouth, esophagus, or stomach, followed by hours or days of struggling against the line before the gear is retrieved. Many are dead by retrieval; survivors often have internal injuries that cause death weeks later. Turtles caught in trawls drown within minutes if unable to surface — a rapid death that is still preventable. Circle hooks and TEDs represent proven, cost-effective solutions that significantly reduce both turtle capture and post-release mortality. Their widespread adoption should be a regulatory priority.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood products certified by fisheries with verified sea turtle bycatch reduction measures
Advocate for mandatory circle hook use in longline fisheries in sea turtle habitat
Support conservation organizations working on sea turtle bycatch reduction internationally
Avoid fishing gear types with documented high sea turtle bycatch rates where alternatives exist
Support expansion of Turtle Excluder Device requirements in shrimp fisheries globally