Sustainable Seafood and Bycatch Welfare

Bycatch — the unintended capture of non-target species in fishing — causes enormous welfare harm globally. Sustainable seafood choices help reduce this preventable suffering.

Key Facts

An estimated 40% of global marine catch is bycatch — discarded, often dead or dying, after capture
Sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, seabirds, and non-target fish species are all caught as bycatch
Some bycatch mitigation is highly effective — turtle excluder devices reduce sea turtle bycatch by 97%
Trawl nets scraping the ocean floor capture virtually everything in their path
Ghost gear — lost or abandoned fishing nets — continues fishing for years, catching and killing marine animals
MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification includes bycatch reduction requirements alongside sustainability criteria
Consumer pressure has driven adoption of bycatch-reducing gear by seafood retailers and processors

Welfare Considerations

Bycatch welfare harm is staggering in scale. Dolphins, porpoises, and small whales entangled in gill nets drown in distress. Sea turtles caught in trawls and longlines drown or are fatally injured. Non-target fish species, caught and discarded at sea, die through barotrauma (pressure injury from being brought to the surface), asphyxiation, or crushing. Ghost gear entraps and kills marine animals for years after it is lost. The aggregate suffering from bycatch rivals or exceeds welfare harm from any other human activity affecting wild animals. Effective mitigation — species-specific gear modifications, observer coverage, bycatch caps, and consumer-driven demand for certified sustainable seafood — dramatically reduces this suffering. Each consumer choice for MSC-certified or equivalent sustainable seafood creates market incentive for bycatch reduction.

What You Can Do

Choose MSC-certified seafood or equivalent verified sustainable sources that include bycatch requirements
Use the Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide to identify lower-bycatch seafood choices
Advocate for mandatory observer coverage on fishing vessels to monitor and report bycatch
Support ghost gear retrieval programs through World Animal Protection and Ghost Gear Initiative
Reduce seafood consumption overall or shift to lower-bycatch species and production methods