Marine Mammals

Cetacean Bycatch: Dolphins and Porpoises in Fishing Gear

Bycatch — the unintended capture of non-target species in fishing gear — kills hundreds of thousands of cetaceans annually. For some species, bycatch is the leading cause of death.

Key Facts

An estimated 300,000 cetaceans are killed as bycatch annually worldwide
Common dolphins and harbour porpoises are among the most frequently bycatch-affected UK species
The harbour porpoise is the most bycatch-affected cetacean in European waters
Acoustic deterrents called pingers reduce porpoise bycatch by up to 70%
The vaquita porpoise is being driven to extinction by bycatch in totoaba gillnets

Welfare Considerations

Drowning is a painful, prolonged death for air-breathing mammals. Cetaceans caught in fishing gear may struggle for minutes or hours before dying, experiencing extreme fear and oxygen deprivation. The scale of this suffering — hundreds of thousands of individual deaths annually — makes cetacean bycatch reduction one of the most impactful marine welfare issues.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood with dolphin-safe certification and verified low bycatch fisheries
Support MSC and Dolphin Safe certification improvements
Advocate for mandatory pinger use in fisheries with known high cetacean bycatch
Support WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, in their bycatch reduction campaigns
Reduce seafood consumption overall to decrease fishing pressure