Shocking Turtle Tragedy: Fishing Is the Culprit

We’ve been saying for years that fishing kills. Remember this oldie-but-goodie tuna can sticker?

Need another reason not to eat fish sea kittens? A new survey reveals that over the past two decades, millions (yes, millions) of turtles have died after becoming ensnared in fishing gear.

Turtles are intelligent, sensitive animals who are pretty helpless to defend themselves—and we can all agree that this is a good reason not to kill them. So if you wouldn’t kill a turtle, why would you kill a fish? Fish are complex, clever, and just as sensitive to pain as turtles are, yet the commercial fishing industry kills them by the billions each year—not for fun but because people buy its products.

The easiest way to save sea turtles (and dolphins and fish)? Go vegan.

Written by Logan Scherer