Cetacean bycatch in fishing gear represents one of the largest sources of human-caused cetacean mortality globally, causing suffering that is largely invisible to consumers.
Cetacean bycatch causes profound suffering that is completely hidden from consumers who purchase the fish caught alongside entangled animals. Dolphins and porpoises that become trapped in gillnets face a terrifying and prolonged drowning process. Whales that become entangled in trap lines can carry trailing gear for months, with the ropes causing progressive injury as they cut through blubber and muscle, restrict feeding, and cause exhaustion. Individual animals have been documented struggling against entanglement for over a year before death. The scale of this suffering demands urgent reduction in bycatch through gear modification and fishery management.