Bycatch — the unintended capture of non-target species in commercial fishing operations — kills hundreds of millions of marine animals annually and represents one of the largest sources of marine animal welfare harm.
Bycatch represents welfare harm on a massive scale. Animals caught as bycatch experience the acute stress and physical damage of capture, often die in the process, and are discarded without their deaths contributing to any food production. Sea turtles, dolphins, and seabirds caught as bycatch are particularly visible welfare concerns, but the billions of non-target fish that die annually represent an enormous welfare problem that receives less attention.