Our earth has an incredible and rich bounty of sea life that exists in oceans all over the planet. Unfortunately, these resources are not limitless, something we have been discovering over the past few years and decades as we have begun to fish out the coastal waters of nations around the world. As much as 90% of the fish in coastal waters have been fished out. Species are becoming endangered and many on the brink of disappearance. However, the fishing industry is not only depleting the populations of fish they are trying to catch. Sadly, they also catch many other forms of marine life that end up the unwitting victims of the commercial fishing industry. These creatures are referred to as bycatch.
Bycatch is any animal that gets caught in a fishing net, but that was not the intended catch. Bottom trawling is one of the worst culprits when it comes to bycatch. Bottom trawling takes place in the deep ocean and is accomplished by dragging a large and heavy net across the sea floor in order to catch one or two types of fish. However, the amount of bycatch is staggering and as much as 90% of what is caught in a bottom trawling net is not part of the intended catch. These creatures include starfish, rays, skates, sea cucumbers, sea snails and slugs, corals, sponges, and so many more types of creatures and they all get dumped back into the ocean as unwanted waste. Many of these marine animals are on the endangered species list and are facing possible extinction.
Even though bottom trawling may be the most wasteful of the various types of net fishing, any fishing with nets will result in bycatch. Bycatch includes fish that are too small to be of value, marine mammals such as dolphins and whales, fish that have already been overfished and are under moratorium, turtles, birds, and other organisms, and cold water corals and other bottom dwelling creatures. In fact, each year fishermen throw back about 30 million metric tons of dead fish that were caught as bycatch. This is actually a staggering 25% of the fish caught annually each year worldwide. Each year an astonishing 300,000 small whales, dolphins, and porpoises are caught in fishing nets and die, mainly because they cannot get to the surface in time to breathe and they drown to death.
The issue of bycatch is widespread. It happens all over the world. It is wasteful and is the major cause of decreasing numbers of many species, even driving some species to extinction. It is also in the way of progress toward a sustainable way of living and fishing at a time in human history when fisheries, local economies, and global economies are struggling to stay afloat.
There are many countries that have created and implemented regulations regarding bycatch. For instance, in the Grand Banks bycatch is not allowed to make up more than 5% of the total catch. Sadly, this rarely happens and in this area the bycatch can make up as much as 80% of the total catch. Often times, if the bycatch is considered to be of value, then it is often taken and sold, even if it is endangered or otherwise not allowed by law to be caught.
How can bycatch be avoided? It cannot, not completely if the net is to continue as the primary tool of the commercial fishing industry. However, there are ways in which the amount of bycatch can be reduced and in which the amount of waste can be reduced. Many countries have created regulations that specify that fishermen must keep a minimum percentage of their catch, say 65%, 75%, or even 85%. This would work to stop the senseless throwing away of many marine animal species. This is also incentive to the fishing industry to ensure that they catch as much as possible of the species they actually want. Fishing gear and equipment can be modified to minimize the amount of bycatch that is caught and this must be done in all circumstances.
Many in the fishing industry argue that the bycatch is simply the cost of doing business and that it is too expensive to fish using any other method. However, there are more and more regulations being put into place because there is simply no excuse for destructive practices that are capable of causing the extinction of species. With more education and more organizations and governments getting on board, regulations will be created that will help protect the creatures of the ocean from being the unwitting captives in the fishing net.