Sea Turtle Welfare: Bycatch, Plastic Ingestion, and Nesting Beach Protection

Sea turtles face multiple anthropogenic threats that cause significant individual suffering. Conservation programs addressing these threats benefit both populations and individual turtle welfare.

Key Facts

Six of seven sea turtle species are listed as threatened or endangered
Bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries kills an estimated 250,000 sea turtles annually
Plastic ingestion causes intestinal blockage, buoyancy problems, and death in turtles globally
Nesting beach lighting disorientation causes thousands of hatchling deaths annually on developed coasts
Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) reduce sea turtle bycatch by over 97% when properly used

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtles face a range of human-caused welfare harms across their entire life cycle. Hatchlings emerging on developed beaches are disoriented by artificial light, crawling toward roads and buildings rather than the sea. Juveniles and adults are caught as bycatch in fishing gear, entangled in abandoned fishing equipment, and harmed by plastic ingestion. Nesting females are disturbed by beach activity and lighting. Each of these threats causes individual suffering in addition to population decline. Conservation programs address these harms: lighting ordinances protecting nesting beaches, turtle excluder device requirements in trawl fisheries, beach nesting patrols, and plastic reduction campaigns all reduce individual turtle welfare harm at scale.

What You Can Do

Support beach lighting ordinances and light-out campaigns during sea turtle nesting season
Reduce single-use plastic consumption to lower marine plastic pollution
Choose seafood certified by schemes requiring turtle excluder device use
Volunteer with sea turtle nesting monitoring programs if you live near nesting beaches