Sea Turtle Welfare: Fishing Gear Entanglement

All seven sea turtle species face entanglement in longlines, gillnets and ghost gear, causing drowning, limb loss and chronic welfare impairment.

Key Facts

An estimated 250,000+ sea turtles are entangled in fishing gear annually
Longline fishing causes hook ingestion and external hooking injuries
Ghost fishing gear entangles sea turtles years after loss at sea
Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) reduce shrimp trawl turtle capture by 97%

Welfare Considerations

Entangled turtles drown over minutes if unable to reach the surface. Hook ingestion causes internal damage, infection and prolonged dysfunction over weeks to months. Ghost gear entanglement wraps around limbs, causing progressive tissue damage, necrosis and limb loss. Rescued turtles with severe entanglement injuries require long-term rehabilitation and may never be releasable. The welfare burden of fishing gear entanglement falls disproportionately on populations already stressed by climate change and habitat loss.

What You Can Do

Support Sea Turtle Conservancy ghost gear removal programmes
Advocate for mandatory TED use in global trawl fisheries
Choose seafood certified by MSC or other responsible fishing standards
Donate to rehabilitation centres receiving injured sea turtles