Marine Turtle Bycatch and Entanglement Welfare

Marine turtle bycatch and fishing gear entanglement cause significant welfare harm to endangered species, but proven mitigation measures can dramatically reduce deaths.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000 sea turtles are caught as bycatch annually, with over 100,000 dying
Entanglement in ghost fishing gear (lost or abandoned nets) is a growing welfare and conservation concern
Circle hooks reduce loggerhead turtle bycatch in longline fisheries by up to 90%
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) allow turtles to escape trawl nets while retaining fish
Recovery efforts have stabilized or increased some sea turtle populations where conservation measures work

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtle bycatch welfare involves two distinct suffering pathways: drowning in trawl nets (typically within minutes) and hook injuries from longlines (which can cause prolonged suffering from internal injuries even when turtles are released). Both represent significant welfare costs for animals who may live 80+ years under natural conditions. The solutions — TEDs, circle hooks, time-area fishing restrictions — are proven and often economically neutral or beneficial to fisheries. The barrier is primarily regulatory and enforcement, making consumer and political advocacy the most effective welfare intervention available to individuals.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from MSC-certified fisheries that require bycatch mitigation measures
Support sea turtle conservation organizations working on bycatch reduction programs
Advocate for international adoption of TEDs and circle hooks through fishing agreements
Reduce consumption of seafood from fisheries with documented high turtle bycatch rates
Support funding for sea turtle population monitoring and bycatch research