Respiratory, acid-base and ionic status of kemp's ridley sea turtles ( Lepidochelys kempi) subjected to trawling

1. Kemp's ridley sea turtles were placed in a commercial shrimp trawl equipped with a turtle excluder device (TED), resulting in a burst of apneic swimming and a brief bout of forced submergence (⩽7.3 min). 2. Trawl tests induced a significant non-respiratory (metabolic) acidosis; blood pH declined almost 0.4 units and plasma [lactate] increased 6-fold from pre- to post-trawl conditions. 3. Significant changes in blood parameters occurred regardless of the duration of forced submergence (range 2.7–7.3 min), suggesting apneic activity was a significant contributor to the observed acid-base imbalance.