Flashing lights on fishing nets reduce accidental catching of turtles

A turtle entangled in a net. A study by the University of Exeter, the Society for the Protection of Turtles (SPOT) and Cypriot fishermen has found that flashing lights on fishing nets reduces accidental catch of turtles. Picture: Philipp Kanstinger/University of Exeter/PA Wire

Lighting up fishing nets with green flashing lights could reduce the number of sea turtles which are accidentally caught and killed, a study has found.

An estimated 40,000 turtles die each year in the Mediterranean when they are trapped as "bycatch" in nets targeting fish species.