In the Coral Triangle, the impacts of bycatch have been devastating.
- Populations of nesting marine turtles have declined by as much as 90% in some areas
- Overfishing of sharks in longline fisheries targeting tuna has endangered many species
- and in shrimp fisheries, juvenile 'trash fish' can outweigh the catch of targeted shrimp by more than 10 to 1
Indiscriminate fishing and lack of management over "non-targeted" species is the cause of these trends. Such wasteful management can have potentially catastrophic food security implications if left unadressed.
Bycatch, a regular occurence in many fishing gears
Fishing gear is rarely selective—any species can be caught, including non-target species.
- Longline fisheries: Marine turtles and seabirds are caught when the gear is dispersed or hauled in. At normal fishing depths, it is sharks, billfishes and and juvenile tunas which are the victims.
- Trawl fisheries: Large nets dragged along the seabed catch almost everything on their path. At shallow depths, bottom trawls also catch marine turtles.
- Gillnet fisheries: This type of gear can be set at any depth, posing a major risk for marine turtles, whales and seabirds among others.
