Bycatch Victims: The Collateral Damage of Industrial Fishing

Our current food system is responsible for the deaths of more than 9 billion land animals annually. However, this staggering figure merely hints at the broader scope of suffering within our food system, as it exclusively addresses land animals. In addition to the terrestrial toll, the fishing industry exacts a devastating toll on marine life, claiming the lives of trillions of fish and other marine creatures each year, either directly for human consumption or as unintended casualties of fishing practices.

Bycatch refers to the unintentional capture of non-target species during commercial fishing operations. These unintended victims often face severe consequences, ranging from injury and death to ecosystem disruption. This essay explores the various dimensions of bycatch, shedding light on the collateral damage inflicted by industrial fishing practices.

Why is the fishing industry bad?

The fishing industry is often criticized for several practices that have detrimental impacts on marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Here are some reasons why the fishing industry, are considered problematic:

Bottom Trawling: Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy nets along the ocean floor to catch fish and other marine species. This practice is highly destructive to marine habitats, as it can damage delicate ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sponge gardens. Bottom trawling can also result in the destruction of essential habitats for numerous marine species, leading to declines in biodiversity and ecosystem health.

Damage to the Ocean Floor: The use of heavy fishing gear, including bottom trawls and dredges, can cause significant damage to the ocean floor. These fishing methods can disturb sediments, disrupt nutrient cycles, and alter the physical structure of the seabed, leading to long-term ecological consequences. Damage to the ocean floor can also impact other marine activities, such as commercial shipping and recreational diving.

Longline Fishing: Longline fishing involves setting lines with baited hooks over long distances to catch fish such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks. While this method can be highly efficient, it is also associated with high levels of bycatch, including non-targeted species such as sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals. Longline fishing can also contribute to overfishing and the depletion of fish stocks, threatening the sustainability of marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of fishing communities.

Bycatch: Bycatch refers to the unintentional capture of non-targeted species during fishing operations. Bycatch is a significant issue in the fishing industry, leading to the unnecessary deaths of millions of marine animals each year. Bycatch can include species such as dolphins, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks, many of which are endangered or threatened. The indiscriminate capture of bycatch can have severe ecological consequences, disrupting marine food webs and compromising the resilience of marine ecosystems.

Overall, the fishing industry is criticized for its unsustainable practices, which contribute to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and the decline of marine species.

What Is the Fisheries Bycatch

Fisheries bycatch refers to the unintentional capture and subsequent mortality of non-target marine species in fishing gear. This phenomenon occurs when fishing operations target specific species but inadvertently catch other marine organisms in the process. Bycatch can encompass a wide range of marine life, including untargeted fish species, marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, crustaceans, and various marine invertebrates.

The problem of fisheries bycatch presents significant ethical and conservation concerns. Ethically, it raises questions about the unnecessary harm inflicted on sentient beings as a result of commercial fishing activities. Many of the animals caught as bycatch suffer injury or death due to entanglement in fishing gear or suffocation when discarded back into the water. Conservationally, bycatch poses a threat to the survival of endangered and threatened species. Species such as sea turtles, marine mammals, and certain seabirds are particularly vulnerable to bycatch mortality, exacerbating their already precarious population statuses.

Efforts to address fisheries bycatch typically involve the development and implementation of bycatch reduction measures. These may include the use of specialized fishing gear and techniques designed to minimize unintended captures, such as turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls or bird-scaring lines on longline fishing vessels. Additionally, regulatory measures such as fishing quotas, gear restrictions, and area closures may be implemented to mitigate the impacts of bycatch on sensitive species and ecosystems.

The wasteful loss of marine life through fisheries bycatch can be attributed to several factors, each contributing to the magnitude of the problem:

• Unselective Fishing Gear: Certain types of fishing gear, such as gillnets and trawls, are notorious for their indiscriminate nature. These gear types ensnare a wide range of marine animals, regardless of whether they are the targeted species. As a result, non-target species, including endangered or vulnerable ones, often become unintentional victims of fishing operations.
• Poor Fisheries Management: Inadequate fisheries management practices play a pivotal role in exacerbating the issue of bycatch. Mismanagement can lead to overfishing, wherein fishing pressure surpasses sustainable levels, depleting target species populations and disrupting marine ecosystems. Overfishing not only reduces the availability of target species but also contributes to increased bycatch as fishermen may resort to less selective methods to maintain catch levels. Furthermore, ineffective regulations and enforcement mechanisms fail to adequately address the bycatch problem, allowing it to persist and escalate.
• Lack of Awareness or Concern: A lack of awareness or concern among fishermen regarding the severity of the bycatch problem further perpetuates its occurrence. Many fishermen may not fully comprehend the ecological consequences of bycatch or may prioritize short-term economic gains over long-term sustainability. Additionally, limited access to information or resources on alternative fishing practices that reduce bycatch can hinder efforts to address the issue. Without a fundamental shift in attitudes and awareness within the fishing industry, efforts to mitigate bycatch are likely to encounter resistance and inertia.

Worst Fishing Methods Regarding Bycatch

Some of the fishing methods that most commonly result in bycatch are longlining, trawling, and gillnetting.

Longlining, also known as trolling, involves deploying hundreds or thousands of baited hooks along a single fishing line, typically extending up to 28 miles from massive ships into the ocean. This method catches various marine species, including marine turtles, sharks, non-target billfishes, and juvenile tunas. Unfortunately, sea animals caught on these lines often suffer fatal injuries, either bleeding to death while hanging from the hooks or dying upon being pulled onto the ship. Bycatch, including fishes hooked through parts of their bodies other than the mouth, frequently sustain fatal injuries and are often thrown back into the ocean. Studies have shown high mortality rates among bycatch species, with Chinook salmon facing an 85% mortality rate after being caught on trolling lines off Alaska, with 23% of them hooked through the eye. Alarmingly, approximately one in five animals caught on trolling lines are sharks, many of which endure the cruel practice of having their fins removed for shark fin soup before being thrown back into the ocean to face a prolonged and agonizing death.

Trawling involves dragging large nets along the seabed, capturing almost everything in their path, including coral reefs and marine turtles. These nets, often pulled between two large ships, ensnare all sea animals in their path. Once full, the nets are lifted onto ships, leading to the suffocation and crushing death of many animals. Fishers then sort through the catch, keeping desired species and discarding non-target animals, which may already be dead by the time they are thrown back into the ocean.

Gillnetting involves setting vertical panels of netting in the water, which can entangle various marine species such as cetaceans, seabirds, seals, and elasmobranchs. Unlike other fishing methods, gillnets are anchored to the sea floor, allowing them to float in the water. Although designed to catch only certain-sized fish by entangling them through their gills, the thin material used to make gillnets makes them nearly invisible to other animals as well. This poses a significant danger to populations of seabirds, especially in areas where large numbers of them are resting or molting, as there are often no modifications to reduce seabird bycatch that have proven practical.

Why can bycatch be a problem?

Bycatch poses a multifaceted problem, impacting both ecological and economic aspects of marine ecosystems and fishing communities:

• Ecological Impact: Bycatch can disrupt marine ecosystems by removing non-targeted species from the food web. Animals that are discarded often die, leading to a loss of biodiversity and potential disruptions to ecosystem dynamics. Bycatch can also damage essential habitat, such as coral reefs and sponge gardens, further compromising the health of marine ecosystems.
• Economic Consequences: Bycatch can have significant economic implications for fishermen and their communities. High levels of bycatch may result in the closure of fisheries or the imposition of quotas, limiting the availability of target species and reducing fishermen’s income. Moreover, bycatch can contribute to overfishing by removing non-targeted fish species, slowing efforts to rebuild fish stocks and undermining the long-term sustainability of fisheries.
• Impact on Protected Species: Bycatch poses a particular threat to protected species such as dolphins, sea turtles, and whales. These animals may become entangled in fishing gear or suffer injuries as a result of bycatch, leading to population declines and impeding recovery efforts. Bycatch of protected species can also result in regulatory measures and fines for fishermen, further exacerbating the economic burden on fishing communities.

Overall, bycatch represents a complex and pervasive challenge that requires concerted efforts to address. Effective bycatch mitigation strategies must consider both ecological and economic factors, aiming to minimize the impacts of fishing activities on non-targeted species while ensuring the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of fishing communities.