Marine Mammal Bycatch and Welfare

Marine mammals including dolphins, porpoises, and seals are caught incidentally in fishing gear each year, causing drowning, injury, and significant welfare harm.

Key Facts

An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die as bycatch annually in global fisheries.
Entanglement in gillnets is the primary bycatch cause for small cetaceans and sea turtles.
Porpoises and dolphins drown rapidly when entangled, but the process can take several minutes of distress.
Acoustic deterrents called pingers significantly reduce porpoise bycatch in gillnet fisheries.
Ghost gear — lost or abandoned fishing equipment — continues to entangle marine mammals for years.

Welfare Considerations

Marine mammals caught in fishing gear experience drowning, entanglement injuries, and extreme panic prior to death. The scale of cetacean bycatch represents one of the most significant wildlife welfare problems globally. Proven mitigation measures include pingers, modified net designs, time-area closures, and observer programmes to monitor and enforce bycatch limits. Consumer choices for sustainably certified seafood create market incentives for bycatch reduction, though certification quality varies.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified under schemes with robust bycatch monitoring including Marine Stewardship Council.
Support organisations campaigning for mandatory pinger use in high-risk gillnet fisheries.
Reduce overall seafood consumption to lower demand for high-bycatch fishing methods.
Support ocean ghost gear recovery programmes that remove abandoned fishing equipment.
Engage with your elected representatives to support strong cetacean bycatch legislation.