Gillnets

Gillnets are long walls of netting hung in the water to trap and hold fish.  A fish swims into the invisible netting and as it swims in reverse to try to dislodge, its gills become caught in the twine.  Sea turtles, like fish, become entangled in the netting.  Because sea turtles need to come to the surface to breath, they will die if held under water for too long.   If they are alive when the net is retrieved, they are often injured and stressed.  Turtles can lose flippers from entanglement in gillnetting.  When this occurs, the turtles are more vulnerable to predation.