Bycatch: Related Content

  • 5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark

    Artistic rendering of an ancient shark, Helicoprion. CREDIT: © Mary Parrish/Smithsonian Institution 1. Respect Your Elders 
    Sharks have a long and impressive lineage. Ancient sharks were cruising the ocean 400 million years ago--long before dinosaurs roamed on land. Relatives of the great white like the giant megatooth evolved more than 20 million years ago.

  • Event: Demystifying Seafood

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sustainable Seafood Glossary of Terms

    Aquaculture - a form of food production involving the cultivation of commercial fish and shellfish species under controlled conditions. Aquaculture currently takes place in contained ponds and along the coast; but offshore aquaculture has begun to gain popularity in open ocean environments. Inland operations include closed tank systems, ponds, and runways.

    Biological Overfishing - when too many fish are harvested from a fishery, there remain too few individuals to reproduce quickly enough to sustain the population at a healthy level.

  • Bycatch in a Shrimp Trawl Net

    A Net Full of Bycatch

    Bycatch, or accidentally caught species, can make up a very high percentage of the haul in shrimp trawl nets. However, some of these “trash” species are now being used, rather than discarded, and new technologies can reduce the catch of non-target species. Learn more in our featured story about Sustainable Seafood.

  • A Turtle Excluder Device (TED) enables a loggerhead turtle to escape from a net.

    Loggerhead Escapes from Fishing Net

    A Turtle Excluder Device (TED) enables a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) to escape from a fishing net. Technological advancements like this are helping to prevent deaths of unintended marine bycatch. Learn more about fisheries in our Sustainable Seafood section.

  • Seafood for Thought

    Sunday, November 21 marks World Fisheries Day, an annual occasion observed in many fishing communities around the world. It’s a great opportunity—even for those of us who do not fish for a living—to pause and reflect on the importance of maintaining healthy fisheries.

  • World Fisheries from Sea to Table

    Worldwide, fisheries touch our lives in countless ways. If well maintained, they can feed millions of people, generate jobs and income, help maintain long-standing community and cultural traditions, and provide a range of products from medicines to clothing. World Fisheries Day, observed annually on November 21st, is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of fisheries around the world and what we—as fishers or consumers—can do to ensure that they stay healthy and productive.

  • Great White Shark

    Sharks are much older than dinosaurs. Their ancestry dates back more than 400 million years, and they are one of evolution’s greatest success stories. These animals are uniquely adapted to their ocean environment with six highly refined senses of smell, hearing, touch, taste, sight, and even electromagnetism.

  • A North Atlantic right whale with a deep wound caused by entanglement in fishing gear floats at the surface in the Bay of Fundy.

    Wounded North Atlantic Right Whale

    A North Atlantic right whale with a deep wound caused by entanglement in fishing gear floats at the surface in the Bay of Fundy on August 1, 1999. Crew members on the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Song of the Whale research vessel provided support and assistance in efforts to disentangle the whale.

  • A Great White Shark hunted and killed.

    Dead Great White Shark

    By-catch, illegal fishing, sport fishing, loss of prey and habitat and shark nets are threatening Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) populations globally. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.

  • A white scar on Phoenix’s lip (at right) was caused by her entanglement with a fishing line.

    Lip Scar Caused By Fishing Gear

    A white scar on Phoenix’s lip (at right) was caused by her entanglement with a fishing line. Learn more about the life of Phoenix, an actual North Atlantic right whale, in the Tale of a whale photo essay.

  • This is North Atlantic right whale #3333 who was spotted with fishing gear trailing from his mouth during an aerial survey off the coast of Georgia on January 29, 2008.

    Whale Entanglement

    This is North Atlantic right whale #3333 who was spotted with fishing gear trailing from his mouth during an aerial survey off the coast of Georgia on January 29, 2008. Entanglement is one of the most serious threats facing North Atlantic right whales. Fortunately this individual was seen without the fishing gear the following August in Canada’s Bay of Fundy.

  • Rethink the Shark

    Sharks have a long and impressive lineage.  Ancient sharks were cruising the ocean 400 million year ago- long before dinosaurs roamed on land.  Relatives of the great white like the giant megatooth evolved more than 20 million years ago.  But today, sharks are threatened from a different predator.

  • Dead sharks caught in fish net.

    Sharks caught in nets

    Shark nets are trapping and killing dozens of sharks off the coast of South Africa. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.

  • AK Sea Grant Fishing for the Future

    In an interactive game, students simulate fishery activity to demonstrate the effect of new technology and overfishing. They then rewrite the rules of the game in an effort to establish a sustainable practice.

    For more information: http://seagrant.uaf.edu/marine-ed/curriculum/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=174.

  • How to Catch a Fish

    After an introduction to the variety of current fishing methods, students learn through an activity about the problem of bycatch and then design a poster or PSA to educate others about the issue.

    For more information: http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/educators.

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