All seven sea turtle species face extinction threats from habitat loss, bycatch, plastic pollution, and climate change, with conservation programmes increasingly integrating individual welfare alongside population recovery.
Sea turtle conservation has traditionally focused on population-level recovery, but individual welfare during rehabilitation, research tagging, and incidental capture deserves equal attention. Turtles entangled in fishing gear suffer acute stress, exhaustion, and drowning risk. Rehabilitation centres treat injuries from boat strikes, entanglement, and cold-stunning, requiring welfare-centred protocols that minimise handling stress. Conservation success depends on reducing key threats: bycatch through turtle excluder devices, plastic pollution through waste reduction, and beach development through habitat protection. Tourists and divers can support welfare through responsible wildlife watching that avoids disturbing nesting females and hatchlings.