Fisheries Bycatch and Non-Target Species Welfare

Bycatch - the accidental capture of non-target species - kills millions of seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and sharks annually. Technological solutions can dramatically reduce this welfare harm.

Key Facts

Global bycatch estimates range from 9 to 40 million tonnes of non-target species annually
Longline bycatch kills an estimated 160,000 seabirds annually, including 100,000 albatrosses
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) allow sea turtles to escape shrimp trawls
Acoustic deterrents on gillnets reduce harbour porpoise bycatch by over 90%
Circle hooks rather than J-hooks reduce sea turtle longline bycatch significantly
MSC certification requires fisheries to demonstrate low bycatch of endangered species

Welfare Considerations

Bycatch welfare harm involves drowning stress for air-breathing species, hook injuries, and net trauma across millions of individual animals annually. Seabirds that dive for baited hooks drown when the line sinks - a stressful and painful death. Marine mammals in gillnets exhaust themselves struggling before drowning. Sea turtles entangled in nets sustain flipper injuries that may require amputation. Technological solutions - TEDs, acoustic deterrents, circle hooks, line weighting - exist and are effective. Their adoption is often resisted because of upfront cost despite net welfare and often economic benefits.

What You Can Do

Choose MSC-certified seafood from fisheries with documented low bycatch rates
Support Birdlife International's Save the Albatross campaign for longline reform
Advocate for mandatory acoustic deterrent use on gillnets in marine mammal habitats
Support Sea Turtle Conservancy's TED advocacy and sea turtle bycatch reduction
Reduce seafood consumption to lower aggregate bycatch pressure on marine ecosystems