All seven sea turtle species are threatened or endangered, with bycatch in fishing gear among the leading human-caused mortality sources. Individual turtles caught in nets and on longlines experience significant suffering.
Sea turtle bycatch causes both individual-level suffering and population-level conservation harm. Turtles hooked on longlines experience acute pain from penetrating injury, followed by prolonged exhaustion as they struggle against the line before being hauled aboard — often hours later. Entangled turtles drown if submergence exceeds their breath-hold capacity, causing hypoxic death. The welfare-conservation case for bycatch reduction is among the strongest in marine conservation: the solutions exist (TEDs, circle hooks, fishing area closures), they work at scale, and they have minimal impact on fishing efficiency. The barrier is compliance, enforcement, and the political will to mandate effective bycatch reduction technology across global fishing fleets.