Marine Turtle Bycatch and Welfare

Marine turtles are caught as bycatch in fisheries worldwide, causing suffering and death. Mitigation measures can dramatically reduce captures while maintaining fishing productivity.

Key Facts

All seven marine turtle species are threatened or endangered, with bycatch in fishing gear identified as a leading cause of death
Longline fisheries targeting tuna and swordfish are particularly significant sources of sea turtle bycatch globally
Turtles caught on longlines can drown if unable to surface to breathe, but survival rates are higher with prompt hook removal
Circle hooks reduce sea turtle bycatch by approximately 85% compared to J-hooks in pelagic longline fisheries
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawl nets allow turtles to escape without significantly reducing shrimp catch
Entanglement in abandoned and lost fishing gear (ghost gear) causes slow drowning and starvation in marine turtles

Welfare Considerations

Marine turtle bycatch causes both conservation harm and significant individual animal suffering. Drowning in fishing gear is a prolonged, distressing death. Survival after longline capture depends critically on hook type and how quickly animals can be released. The tools to dramatically reduce both bycatch rates and suffering in bycatch events are available and in some cases require only regulatory implementation. Consumer choices that favour sustainable fisheries using circle hooks and TEDs directly reduce the probability that the fish they buy caused turtle suffering.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by fisheries using turtle-friendly gear including circle hooks
Support mandatory Turtle Excluder Device requirements in all shrimp trawl fisheries
Advocate for international agreements to reduce longline bycatch of marine turtles
Participate in beach monitoring programmes that record turtle nesting and strandings
Support organisations working to remove ghost fishing gear from marine environments