Industrial tuna fishing kills millions of non-target animals annually as bycatch. Understanding which fishing methods cause most harm helps consumers make welfare-positive choices.
Bycatch animals experience welfare harms ranging from acute barotrauma during hauling to prolonged entanglement in gear before death. Sharks caught on longlines may be alive for hours before the gear is hauled. Sea turtles dragged behind FAD-associated purse seines experience exhaustion and injury. Even when released, many bycatch animals are injured or physiologically stressed in ways that reduce survival. Choosing pole-and-line or certified sustainable tuna is the most direct consumer-level intervention to reduce bycatch welfare harms.