Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and seals are accidentally caught and killed in fishing gear each year, causing preventable suffering at scale.
Marine mammal bycatch combines two welfare harms: accidental capture causes acute distress and injury, and drowning in a net is a prolonged, distressing death for air-breathing animals. Available technology including pingers, modified nets, and fishery closures dramatically reduces bycatch rates. The barrier is economic and regulatory rather than technical. The vaquita porpoise case — fewer than 10 individuals remaining — illustrates the endpoint of unchecked bycatch mortality.