Why is by-catch a problem?

Bycatch refers to any organisms that are unintentionally caught during fishing. These can include young fish, which have not had the chance to reproduce, and therefor they decrease the population before it has had a chance to replace itself. It can also refer to animals like dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles which get killed in the netting process. This has caused significant damage to populations of these animals.

Buying line caught fish reduces the bycatch of many sea animals. Unfortunately, in large scale operations, seabirds often bite the hooks and are therefor badly injured.