Bycatch is an ongoing problem that endangers animals we love while disrupting the ocean ecosystem and wasting precious resources.
This issue stems from the fact that fisheries use greatly effective fishing tactics that end up capturing marine life that the fishermen were not intending to catch.
Here is what bycatch can look like:
While many of these issues impact sea life that is seemingly far removed from us, bycatch is an issue closer to our lives than you might originally think. Bycatch has been an issue in the Upper Great Lakes, the home of Lake Trout Fisheries. Michigan is taking steps to prevent as much bycatch as possible, but we must continue fighting this issue on this local level as well as a larger national scale of the US.
While this must include changing government regulations, it must also include change on individual levels. It is crucial that individuals choose to fight the bycatch issue in their own lives by being educated on this topic and making lifestyle choices that support a better marine ecosystem. To learn more about bycatch, read more here; to read about the animals affected by this issue click here, and to learn about actions you should take to fight bycatch click here.
Images from:
- https://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2014/04/only-estimated-10-per-cent-of-all.html
- https://www.seafoodwatch.org/ocean-issues/wild-seafood/bycatch
- https://fishbio.com/field-notes/population-dynamics/on-the-hook-reigning-in-wasteful-fisheries-bycatch
