Dolphins, porpoises, seals, and whales are caught as bycatch in fishing operations worldwide, experiencing drowning, injury, and death in numbers that threaten some populations and cause significant individual welfare harm.
Key Facts
An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die as bycatch each year globally
The vaquita porpoise has been driven to the edge of extinction largely through gillnet bycatch in the Gulf of California
Acoustic deterrents called pingers can reduce cetacean bycatch by 50-90% in gillnet fisheries
Seal and sea lion bycatch in trawl fisheries causes drowning and injury in cold-water fishing regions globally
Some fisheries have achieved near-zero marine mammal bycatch through gear modifications and management changes
Welfare Considerations
Marine mammal bycatch causes welfare harm through drowning — a prolonged and distressing death for air-breathing animals caught underwater — and through non-lethal injuries from entanglement. For highly social cetaceans, removal of individuals also affects the welfare of surviving group members who experience the disruption of social bonds. The availability of proven mitigation measures — pingers, modified gear, fishing area management — makes much of this suffering preventable. Consumer demand for bycatch-certified seafood and support for fisheries management that requires bycatch monitoring and reduction represent the most accessible levers for change.
What You Can Do
Choose seafood certified under programs that require marine mammal bycatch monitoring and mitigation
Support organizations working on bycatch reduction technology and policy in global fisheries
Reduce seafood from fisheries with documented marine mammal bycatch problems
Advocate for bycatch monitoring requirements and independent observer programs in fisheries management
Learn which fishing methods and geographic areas pose the greatest risk to marine mammal welfare