From sea turtle rehabilitation to verifiable conservation outcomes: an evidence-based framework for aquariums

Zoos and aquariums increasingly identify conservation as a central institutional commitment, but their contributions require evaluation through verifiable outcomes. Sea turtle rehabilitation provides a useful context because appropriately managed rescue and rehabilitation can support individual welfare and generate information on health, disease, anthropogenic threats, and post-release recovery, yet release alone does not demonstrate population-level benefit. Although individual clinical care and rescue numbers represent essential frontline commitments, aquarium-based rehabilitation programs can further build upon this foundation through transparent clinical dispositions, evidence-based care, post-release monitoring, health and threat surveillance, peer-reviewed research, regional data sharing, and evaluated education. Published work from Taiwan illustrates how rehabilitation-derived information can support this broader conservation role. This perspective proposes an evidence-based framework for assessing and strengthening the conservation contribution of aquarium-based sea turtle rehabilitation.