All seven species of marine turtles are caught as bycatch in fishing gear annually, causing injuries, drowning, and deaths that impose welfare costs on individuals of endangered species.
Marine turtles caught in fishing gear experience acute welfare harms: drowning, hook ingestion causing internal injury, flipper entanglement, and the trauma of entanglement itself. Turtles that survive with injuries may experience chronic pain and reduced foraging ability. Bycatch is a significant mortality source for already-endangered populations where every individual matters for recovery. Welfare and conservation interests align in pressing for universal adoption of turtle excluder devices, circle hooks on longlines, and fishing practice reforms that reduce turtle interaction.