Bycatch - Explained

We often see the terms Bycatch and Discards used interchangeably, but they are in fact two different things. “Bycatch” is the catch of any species that wasn’t specifically targeted, whereas “discards” refers to catch that was thrown back into the ocean and not brought to port. It is worth clarifying that the vast majority of “bycatch” are not marine mammals, seabirds or endangered species, but are other edible fish species. Moreover, “bycatch” is not necessarily being discarded, and bycatch can certainly be sustainable - that is, if the species caught as bycatch are from an abundant, healthy stock, and the fisherman had quota for it. Likewise, “discarded” fish are not necessarily dead – depending on the species and catch method between 50-93% of discarded fish survive.

Nevertheless, a sustainable fishery will continuously seek to reduce the levels of bycatch and discards. And the West Coast Groundfish fishery has seen dramatic improvements in bycatch and discard levels. In 2002, before sustainability measures were put in place, the fishery had an average discard rate of 45% of the catch. Through new net technology, area and seasonal closures, and new landings and discard rules, this discard rate was reduced to 10% by 2011, and down to 4% in 2019.