Sea Turtle Bycatch: Reducing Mortality in Fisheries

How sea turtles are caught as bycatch in global fisheries, the welfare and conservation implications of these incidental captures, and the proven technologies that reduce mortality.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are captured as bycatch annually in longline fisheries alone, with tens of thousands dying from these interactions
Circle hooks reduce sea turtle bycatch in longline fisheries by 80-90% compared to conventional J-hooks with minimal impact on target fish catch rates
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls reduce sea turtle bycatch by 97% and are required in US waters but not universally adopted globally
All seven sea turtle species are listed as either Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered by IUCN
Sea turtles captured in fishing gear may experience barotrauma, drowning, hook injury, and entanglement wounds that cause welfare harm even when they are released alive
LED lights on gill nets reduce sea turtle incidental capture by 60-70% by making the nets more visible to turtles in low-light conditions

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtle bycatch involves both conservation-scale population impacts and individual animal welfare suffering. Turtles captured in longlines may remain submerged for hours before gear retrieval, and drowning represents a prolonged welfare-negative death. Turtles that survive capture often have hook injuries, entanglement wounds, or barotrauma that impairs their ability to feed and dive effectively after release. The welfare case for bycatch reduction technology is clear: proven, cost-effective technologies exist that dramatically reduce both mortality and injury. The barrier to adoption is primarily economic and regulatory — requiring these technologies and providing support for implementation are tractable policy interventions.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from fisheries certified by MSC or similar standards that include bycatch reduction requirements
Support organizations like Oceana and Sea Turtle Conservancy that campaign for TED requirements and circle hook adoption globally
Ask retailers and restaurants about the bycatch practices of their seafood suppliers — consumer pressure drives supply chain standards
Advocate for international adoption of circle hook requirements in longline fisheries operating across sea turtle habitat
Participate in or donate to sea turtle monitoring programs that track population recovery in areas with improved bycatch management