Sea Turtle Strandings Network: Welfare and Response

Sea turtle strandings networks coordinate responses to live and dead stranded turtles, improving welfare outcomes for individual animals and providing important conservation data.

Key Facts

UK seas see increasing numbers of sea turtle strandings, primarily loggerheads and leatherbacks from the North Atlantic
Cold stunning (hypothermia) is the most common cause of live strandings in UK and northern European waters
The Marine Conservation Society coordinates UK sea turtle stranding records through a national network
Live turtles treated at rehabilitation centres including the National Marine Aquarium show good recovery rates from cold stunning
Stranded turtles often carry fishing gear entanglement injuries, plastic ingestion and boat strike wounds alongside cold stunning

Welfare Considerations

Sea turtle strandings welfare requires rapid response - cold-stunned turtles suffer hypothermia and are particularly vulnerable to further injury and stress during retrieval. Welfare-positive stranding response involves careful handling, rapid warming (not too fast), assessment for injuries, and decision-making about rehabilitation versus euthanasia based on prognosis. Individual turtles that recover from rehabilitation and are released carry satellite tags that provide valuable data on migration patterns. The welfare of stranded turtles is also connected to fishing and boating practices - reducing entanglement and boat strikes reduces the compound injuries that most compromise survival.

What You Can Do

Report sea turtle strandings to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) stranding hotline
Do not return turtles to the sea without expert guidance - cold-stunned animals will drown
Support the National Marine Aquarium's rehabilitation programme
Advocate for turtle-excluder devices in shrimp trawls operating in UK and North Atlantic waters