Wild Fish Bycatch Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Bycatch - non-target species caught in fishing operations - causes enormous welfare harm through injury, suffocation, and crushing. Understanding bycatch welfare impacts supports informed seafood choices.

Key Facts

Global bycatch is estimated at 38.5 million tonnes annually, representing 40% of all marine catch
Bycatch species include sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, juvenile fish, and sharks caught unintentionally
Fish and other marine animals caught as bycatch typically experience suffocation, crushing, or injury during capture and discard
Discarded bycatch may be returned to the sea alive but mortally injured, dying slowly over hours
Bottom trawling generates particularly high bycatch and also destroys benthic habitat
Selective fishing gear modifications including turtle excluder devices and bird-scaring lines reduce bycatch of specific taxa
Marine Stewardship Council certification requires assessment of bycatch impacts as part of fisheries evaluation
Consumer demand for low-bycatch seafood can drive adoption of more selective fishing methods

Welfare Considerations

Bycatch welfare is an often-overlooked dimension of commercial fishing's impact. The suffering associated with bycatch occurs across a massive scale - tens of millions of tonnes of non-target animals annually experiencing injury, suffocation, and in some cases prolonged dying after discard. Fish caught as bycatch and discarded may live for hours after return to the sea, dying slowly from injuries and physiological stress. Marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds entangled in fishing gear may drown. The welfare case for reducing bycatch complements conservation arguments: both point toward more selective fishing methods, gear modifications, and consumer choices that create market pressure for improvement.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by standards that evaluate and require bycatch reduction (MSC, Seafood Watch)
Use seafood guides that rate species by bycatch and fishing method impacts
Advocate for wider adoption of bycatch reduction devices in fishing gear regulations
Reduce consumption of seafood from high-bycatch fisheries or switch to lower-impact species
Support research into selective fishing gear that reduces non-target catches