Marine Bycatch and Welfare: The Hidden Cost of Commercial Fishing

Bycatch — the unintended capture of non-target species in commercial fishing — kills an estimated 40% of all marine catch globally, representing both a conservation crisis and a massive welfare problem.

Key Facts

The FAO estimates that bycatch represents approximately 40% of total global marine catch — roughly 38 million tonnes of non-target species discarded dead or dying annually
Bycatch includes dolphins, sea turtles, seabirds, sharks, rays, and countless non-target fish species — many of which are endangered or ecologically important
Entanglement in fishing gear is the leading cause of cetacean mortality globally: approximately 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die in fishing gear annually
Individual welfare costs of bycatch are significant: animals may spend hours or days entangled or trapped in gear before dying from exhaustion, drowning, or injury — a prolonged and painful death for species capable of suffering
Gear modifications have proven highly effective at reducing bycatch: turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls reduce sea turtle bycatch by over 90%; acoustic pingers on gill nets reduce porpoise bycatch by 70-90%
Seabird bycatch — primarily from longline fishing — kills over 100,000 seabirds annually including albatrosses, which are among the most threatened seabird groups globally
Observer programs that place independent monitors on fishing vessels improve bycatch data collection and accountability, but coverage is typically below 10% of fishing effort in most jurisdictions

Welfare Considerations

Marine bycatch represents one of the largest-scale welfare problems in the world — hundreds of millions of individual animals, many with significant capacity for suffering, die annually as incidental casualties of commercial fishing. The welfare dimension of bycatch is often overlooked in favor of conservation framing, but the two are complementary: reducing bycatch simultaneously reduces individual suffering and protects populations. The technical solutions to many bycatch problems are well-established and affordable — TEDs, acoustic pingers, modified longline weights and streamers for seabirds, and time-area closures for sensitive species. The barrier to implementation is not technical but regulatory and economic: gear modifications have costs, and without mandatory requirements, competitive pressure prevents voluntary adoption. Consumer-facing certification schemes that require bycatch monitoring and reduction as certification criteria are one lever for change; regulatory requirements applied industry-wide are more comprehensive.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by schemes with meaningful bycatch standards including Marine Stewardship Council certification with bycatch conditions
Support WWF, Oceana, and Birdlife International programs working on seabird and marine mammal bycatch reduction globally
Advocate for mandatory observer coverage on commercial fishing vessels to improve bycatch data and accountability
Contact seafood retailers to ask about bycatch reduction requirements in their sourcing standards and supplier auditing
Support research and development funding for fishing gear innovation that reduces bycatch without reducing target species catch efficiency