Marine turtles undertake extraordinary migrations to nest on the beaches where they hatched, facing numerous threats from plastic pollution, fishing bycatch, coastal development, and climate change affecting nesting success.
Marine turtle welfare occurs across oceanic and terrestrial environments, creating complex protection challenges. Entanglement in ghost fishing gear causes prolonged suffering and drowning for animals that must surface to breathe. Plastic ingestion is poorly painful and causes chronic nutritional failure as plastic fills the gut. On beaches, light pollution drives hatchlings away from the ocean toward roads and buildings. Nest temperature alteration from climate warming affects not just sex ratios but incubation success and embryo welfare. Conservation programs that protect nesting beaches, reduce light pollution, and support bycatch reduction in fisheries provide direct welfare benefits alongside population conservation. Turtle hospitals treating stranded individuals address the welfare of individual animals affected by these threats.