Sea Turtle Bycatch Reduction: TEDs and Circle Hooks

Turtle excluder devices and circle hooks dramatically reduce sea turtle bycatch in commercial fisheries — proven technologies whose wider adoption could prevent hundreds of thousands of welfare-harming interactions annually.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are accidentally captured in commercial fisheries each year
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) are trap doors built into shrimp trawl nets that allow turtles to escape; they reduce turtle bycatch by 97%
TEDs are mandatory in US and some other shrimp trawl fisheries but not globally required
Circle hooks reduce loggerhead sea turtle bycatch by 90% and leatherback bycatch by 85% in longline fisheries
Circle hooks are also more effective for catching target fish species in many longline contexts
Modification of longline gear depth and timing can further reduce turtle bycatch in specific fisheries
Bycatch injuries include hook ingestion, flipper entanglement, and drowning when turtles cannot surface to breathe

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtle bycatch causes both fatal and non-fatal welfare harms. Drowning in nets causes acute suffocation. Hook ingestion causes internal injury and chronic impairment of feeding. Flipper entanglement causes lacerations and can prevent normal swimming. Turtles captured alive and released from longlines often carry hooks that cause ongoing injury if not removed. The availability of effective, low-cost solutions (TEDs, circle hooks) makes continued high bycatch rates particularly tragic from a welfare perspective — the suffering is preventable with existing technology. Global TED mandates and longline gear requirements would significantly reduce sea turtle bycatch welfare harms across the millions of annual fishing events that currently threaten turtle populations.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from fisheries certified under MSC or other standards that require bycatch reduction devices
Advocate for global TED requirements in shrimp trawl fisheries as part of trade agreements
Support the mandatory use of circle hooks in longline fisheries globally
Donate to Sea Turtle Conservancy and similar organizations working on bycatch reduction advocacy
Engage with seafood retailers about their sourcing requirements for bycatch reduction device compliance
Support international fisheries agreements that include sea turtle bycatch reduction provisions