Marine Animals

Sea Turtle Fisheries Interaction

Sea turtles continue to be injured and killed in commercial fisheries despite the availability of gear modifications that dramatically reduce bycatch.

Key Facts

Turtle Excluder Devices are legally required in US shrimp trawl fisheries
Adoption of circle hooks in longline fisheries reduces turtle bycatch by 80-90%
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles are caught as bycatch globally each year
All sea turtle species are listed as threatened or endangered

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtles caught in shrimp trawls may be drowned if not expelled quickly, while those caught on longline hooks may be injured or drowned. Available gear modifications dramatically reduce both frequency and severity of turtle bycatch. Requiring these modifications in all relevant fisheries globally would protect millions of individual turtles from preventable injury and death.

What You Can Do

Choose shrimp from US fisheries required to use TEDs
Support mandatory circle hook requirements in international longline fisheries
Advocate for global sea turtle bycatch reduction programs
Support sea turtle bycatch monitoring programs that demonstrate gear effectiveness