Aquaculture

Wild Caught Fish Welfare and Bycatch

Wild-caught fish welfare encompasses the welfare costs of different fishing methods, the suffering of bycatch species, and the challenges of improving welfare across vast and difficult-to-monitor fisheries.

Key Facts

Global wild catch is around 90 million tonnes annually involving trillions of individual fish
Bycatch - unwanted species caught incidentally - is estimated at 40% of total catch
Trawling, longlining, and gillnetting all cause welfare problems for target and bycatch species
Discard bans have reduced some bycatch problems but created others
Fish welfare in wild fisheries is virtually unregulated globally

Welfare Considerations

Wild caught fish welfare is a massive and largely unaddressed animal welfare issue. The scale of welfare impacts from trawling alone is staggering. Consumer choice for more selective fishing methods (line-caught, trap-caught) can reduce welfare impacts. Policy change is ultimately essential.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from more selective fishing methods like line-caught or trap-caught where possible
Support sustainable seafood certification schemes that consider bycatch reduction
Reduce fish consumption overall to decrease welfare impacts of fishing