Wild Fish and Commercial Bycatch Suffering

Bycatch — the unintended capture of non-target species in commercial fishing — kills trillions of animals annually, including fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles, with almost no welfare consideration.

Key Facts

Global bycatch estimates range from 10 to 40% of total catch depending on fishery type
Trawl fisheries have particularly high bycatch rates, catching shrimp, groundfish, and invertebrates
Bycatch animals may suffer for hours in nets before drowning, crushing, or suffocation
Dolphins, porpoises, and sea turtles are killed as bycatch in millions annually
Discarding regulations require bycatch to be returned to sea — but most are dead or fatally injured
Bycatch reduction devices and modified gear designs can reduce bycatch by over 90% in some fisheries

Welfare Considerations

Bycatch represents one of the largest causes of animal suffering and death in human food production, yet remains largely invisible in welfare and sustainability conversations. Fish caught as bycatch experience the full suffering of gill net or trawl capture — crushing, suffocation, barotrauma — before dying and being discarded. Marine mammals and seabirds caught in nets drown or are crushed. The solutions exist: modified gear, time-area closures, and observer programs have all been shown to dramatically reduce bycatch. What is missing is the political and commercial will to implement them universally.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified to standards that include bycatch reduction requirements
Avoid shrimp from trawl fisheries, which have among the highest bycatch rates
Support fisheries management policies that mandate bycatch reduction device use
Advocate for transparent bycatch reporting requirements for all commercial fleets
Reduce overall seafood consumption to lower demand pressure on high-bycatch fisheries