- Researchers from U.S. and fishers from Mexico’s Gulf of California have developed solar-powered LED buoys that attach to gill nets to help reduce sea turtle bycatch by 63%.
- The floating devices recharge in sunlight and can operate for over five days without light, addressing cost and waste concerns associated with traditional battery-powered lights and single-use chemical light sticks.
- Researchers say the green flashing lights may help sea turtles see the nets in dark water.
- The technology emerged from collaborative workshops between scientists and fishing communities, with commercial production estimated within two to three years through partnership with fishing gear manufacturer Fishtek Marine.
In the waters off Isla el Pardito, where rocky reefs meet mangrove swamps in Mexico’s Gulf of California, marine biologists and veteran fishers are using the power of the sun to protect endangered sea turtles.
This region has some of the highest reported rates of turtles being accidentally caught in fishing nets, a problem known as bycatch that poses one of the biggest threats to marine turtle populations worldwide. So researchers from the U.S. worked with local fishers to attach solar-powered lights, designed as floating buoys, onto gill nets to alert turtles to the presence of the nets.
They found that this reduced sea turtle bycatch by 63% during controlled experiments, according to a study published in Conservation Letters. All 67 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) captured during the study were released alive.
The idea for the solar-powered lights came from three workshops starting in 2018, where scientists and fishers worked together to find alternatives to existing lights that use disposable batteries or chemical sticks. Traditional LED lights require regular battery replacements, and chemical light sticks only last 24 hours, leading to greater costs and waste.
“They took us into account and gave us the freedom to give our opinions and make modifications,” said Juan Pablo Cuevas Amador, a fisher from the community of El Pardito who participated in developing and testing the devices and is listed as a co-author of the study. “For us, it’s important that it be done in collaboration because with what they know and what we know, we can do quite interesting things.”
Researchers say the green flashing lights may help sea turtles see the nets in dark water. Sea turtles can see green light well, so the lights may have acted as warning signals, allowing them to avoid the nets as they swam through coastal waters at night. Meanwhile, fish like yellowtail amberjack, which actively swim into the nets to feed, didn’t seem to be deterred by the lights.
The cylindrical buoys thread onto gill net float lines like standard fishing gear. Clear polycarbonate casings protect flexible solar cells, rechargeable lithium polymer batteries, and programmable green LEDs. Fully charged units can illuminate nets continuously for 132 hours without sunlight.
For the experiment, researchers deployed 28 paired gill nets. Each set consisted of one 85-meter (280-foot) control net and one illuminated net, connected by 200 m (660 ft) of rope. The nets were left in the water for 11-12 hours overnight, at depths ranging from 7-12 m (23-39 ft). Researchers checked them hourly, disentangling and releasing any turtles they found without hauling in the nets.
The control nets caught 50 green turtles; the illuminated nets caught 17. All were released alive.
“It’s a win-win,” Jesse Senko, lead author and assistant research professor at Arizona State University’s School of Ocean Futures, said in a statement. “You get a light that lasts significantly longer without the need for disposable batteries, and you also get a proven reduction in bycatch, one of the greatest threats to sea turtles worldwide.”
Senko and colleagues are working with Fishtek Marine, which develops technologies to make fishing more sustainable, to produce the lights commercially, potentially over the next two to three years.
Gill nets are one of the most widely used fishing gear in coastal regions worldwide, providing nearly half of global seafood from small-scale operations. But when deployed in areas overlapping with sea turtle habitat, the nets can ensnare turtles and other non-target species, driving population declines.
The coastal waters surrounding Baja California Sur have some of the highest documented sea turtle bycatch rates globally, according to previous research documenting mortality among green and loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in bottom-set gillnet fisheries.
“Sea turtles play an irreplaceable role in marine ecosystems,” Senko said. “They help maintain the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs. Protecting them isn’t just about saving an iconic species. It’s about ensuring the long-term resilience of our oceans.”
Banner image of ASU marine biologist and conservation scientist Jesse Senko fishes a solar-powered illuminated net off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo by Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock/Arizona State University)
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Citation:
Senko, J. F., Wang, J., Burgher, K. M., Jenkins, L. D., Sang, C. L., Bailly, M., … Blain, J. (2025). Harnessing solar energy to reduce sea turtle bycatch. Conservation Letters, 18(5), e13151. doi:10.1111/conl.13151
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