Loggerhead turtle  (Caretta caretta)

Long-distance migration makes loggerheads particularly vulnerable to accidental capture by commercial fisheries (bycatch), and turtles can become caught in shrimp trawler nets or entangled in longlines, leading to mortal injuries or death by drowning (7). Fisheries captured 32,000 loggerhead turtles in the Atlantic and 10,500 in the Gulf of Mexico in 1987 alone (7). Loggerheads are unlikely to be deliberately hunted for their meat, which is not considered a delicacy, but eggs are collected in many parts of the world (7). Habitat loss or disturbance, particularly developments on nesting beaches, is the main threat to this species (9).

Loggerheads are nominally protected throughout most of their range and international trade is prohibited by their listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (3). Nesting occurs on relatively few protected beaches however, and increased protection remains a conservation priority. In Oman, if locals must collect eggs, they are encouraged to only take them from below the high water mark, thus securing an income without harming the turtles' survival chances (9). Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) fitted to shrimp trawlers can help prevent bycatch by only allowing shrimp-sized objects to enter the nets, and these are now being adopted by many of the world's fisheries (7).