There is incidental capture of sea turtles in certain areas of Indonesian waters, especially in the Indian Ocean. Almost 70% of sampled fishing fleets in Indonesian waters frequently captured 1 turtle per trip (Wiadnyana et al, 2007). This is because the fishing ground of tuna fisheries and the swimming ground of sea turtles often overlap, leading to a high possibility of sea turtles being captured as by-catch by commercial fishing fleets. Furthermore, the fishing technique used by the fishermen is also a crucial factor resulting in the incidental capture of sea turtles. Many tuna longline fishermen make use of “J” hooks for their longlines which leads to a higher incidence of sea turtle by-catch as compared to when circle hooks are used.

Thus, while majority of fishermen express willingness to release caught sea turtles back into the ocean, they are not equipped with the knowledge on the proper release of sea turtles into the ocean. Moreover, the use of “J” hooks enter easily into the esophagus of caught sea turtles and while they are eventually released back into the sea, some of them are already injured or dead (Wiadnyana, 2009).

Credit: Projeto Tamar Brazil/Marine Photobank