Marine Turtle Bycatch and Fisheries Welfare

All seven species of marine turtle are threatened, and bycatch in fishing gear remains one of the most significant sources of injury and mortality for these ancient reptiles.

Key Facts

An estimated 85,000 sea turtles are caught as bycatch annually in longline fisheries alone.
All seven sea turtle species are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
Turtles can drown in nets within minutes; even those released may die from injuries sustained during capture.
Longline hooks, gillnets, and trawl nets are the primary capture methods affecting sea turtles.
Circle hooks, which reduce turtle bycatch by up to 90% compared to J-hooks, are a proven mitigation measure.
Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in trawl nets allow turtles to escape and are mandated in some fisheries.
Entanglement in ghost gear — lost or abandoned fishing equipment — kills turtles long after fishing operations have ceased.
Beach-nesting populations face additional threats from coastal development, artificial lighting, and sand temperature changes from climate change.

Welfare Considerations

Marine turtles captured in fishing gear suffer acutely: struggling against restraint, potential internal injuries from hooks, and drowning in nets. Those released alive may die from hook injuries, stress, or cold-stunning. The welfare harm of bycatch is compounded by the conservation crisis it contributes to, affecting species that have survived for over 100 million years but face unprecedented mortality from human fishing activity. Solutions exist and are proven: circle hooks, TEDs, and spatial management of fishing effort can dramatically reduce turtle bycatch. The barrier is political will and industry uptake, not technology.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by schemes requiring turtle bycatch mitigation, such as MSC with sea turtle requirements.
Support campaigns for mandatory circle hook use in longline fisheries targeting tuna and swordfish.
Donate to organisations monitoring and rehabilitating sea turtles injured by fishing gear.
Advocate for stronger ghost gear retrieval programmes and fishing gear deposit schemes.
Report stranded or entangled sea turtles to local wildlife rescue immediately.