Incidental capture in fishing gear (also known as bycatch) is one of the greatest threats to sea turtles and many other marine species worldwide. Approximately 40% of all animals caught in fisheries are discarded as trash. Marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and other species are caught and discarded, usually dead. For those animals that are caught and released injured but still alive, their fate after being released is unknown.
A 2010 study by Duke University estimated as many as 1.5 million sea turtles caught in fisheries around the world over an 18 year period.
Trawls, longlines, driftnets, gillnets, pots, and traps are all responsible for the death of marine creatures by incidental capture or entanglement. Longlines, containing thousands of baited hooks on lines that can be tens of miles long, hook and entangle many animals and fish that aren't intended to be caught. Sea turtles, particularly greens, loggerheads, and leatherbacks, are attracted to the bait and get caught on the hooks or become entangled in the lines and drown.
Trawls are also particularly destructive and are estimated to catch 20 pounds of bycatch for every pound of target species. Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) have reduced sea turtle mortality in trawl fisheries but are not regulated worldwide.
In the United States, sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Beyond U.S. waters, there is no law enforcement to initiate and support bycatch reduction programs. Nevertheless, the growing international interest in reducing bycatch is motivated by numerous factors such as appreciation for endangered species and concern for maintaining marine biodiversity.
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