Bycatch refers to the unwanted sea life people catch when
they’re fishing for something else. Bycatch wastes 7 million
metric tonnes of sea life every year. The vast majority of
bycatch—already dead when it hits the deck— is just discarded.
Killing hundreds of thousands of juvenile fish not big enough
for legal take can undermine the entire fishery. Bycatch is
heavy when boats use destructive fishing gear such as massive
trawl nets that scrape the bottom of the ocean and capture
virtually everything in their path. The 1.4 billion baited hooks
set in longline fisheries every year kill a great deal of non-
target animals including sea turtles, sharks, birds, and marine
mammals. Blue Ocean Institute’s Seafood Choices Guide’s
methodology for assessing wild-caught seafood uses bycatch as
one of its five core criteria. And for years Blue Ocean has
worked with scientists, regulators, fishing industry leaders,
and conservationists to reduce the unintended catch of marine
life. We promote effective, practical solutions