Sea Turtle Welfare: Bycatch and Entanglement

All seven sea turtle species are threatened or endangered, with bycatch in fishing gear representing one of the leading causes of mortality and injury.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are captured as bycatch in longline fisheries annually
Trawl nets are major sources of sea turtle bycatch, particularly for loggerhead and Kemp ridley turtles
Turtle Excluder Devices reduce sea turtle bycatch by over 90% in trawl fisheries
Entanglement in fishing gear causes drowning, flipper amputation, and chronic gear trailing
All sea turtle species are protected under the Endangered Species Act in the US

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtles caught in fishing gear experience drowning, physical injury from struggle, and the trauma of being hauled aboard vessels. Those that escape or are released may carry embedded hooks or trailing gear that causes chronic wounds and can lead to death weeks or months later. The welfare and conservation cases align perfectly for sea turtles: the same interventions that prevent bycatch mortality also prevent enormous individual animal suffering. Turtle Excluder Devices and circle hooks in longlines are proven solutions that need wider mandatory adoption.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by programs requiring Turtle Excluder Devices in trawl fisheries
Support organizations that free-dive to remove entangled fishing gear from sea turtles
Advocate for mandatory Turtle Excluder Device requirements in all shrimp trawl fisheries
Participate in beach cleanups to reduce plastic entanglement risks for sea turtles