Bycatch Mitigation Strategies in Marine Fisheries

Bycatch—the unintended capture of non‐target species—remains one of the greatest conservation and management challenges in marine fisheries. Across diverse gear types, from longlines and trawls to gillnets and purse seines, bycatch can include fish, sharks, turtles, seabirds, marine mammals and other megafauna. Effective mitigation relies on a suite of complementary measures: technological innovations to alter gear selectivity or deter non‐target animals; spatial and temporal closures to reduce overlap between fishing effort and vulnerable species; behavioural interventions to influence fisher decision‐making; and strengthened monitoring and governance frameworks. Gear modifications such as escape openings, acoustic deterrents and net illumination have been shown to reduce bycatch rates without compromising target yield. Time‐area closures and dynamic ocean management can limit incidental capture when and where bycatch risk is highest, while electronic monitoring and observer programmes improve data quality for adaptive management. Integrating socio‐economic incentives with clear regulatory standards fosters fisher engagement and compliance. The mitigation hierarchy–avoid, minimise, remediate, offset–provides a structured approach to set quantitative bycatch reduction targets. Taken together, these strategies contribute to rebuilding depleted populations, safeguarding biodiversity and promoting more sustainable fisheries worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Bycatch Mitigation Strategies in Marine Fisheries publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bycatch mitigation strategies in marine fisheries across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bycatch: The incidental capture of non‐target species during fishing operations.

Gillnet: A fishing net that entangles passing organisms by their gills or body.

Drift gillnet: A free-floating gillnet set to drift with currents, commonly used in pelagic fisheries.

Pinger: An acoustic deterrent device that emits sound pulses to repel marine mammals from fishing nets.

Bycatch reduction device (BRD): A net modification designed to allow non-target species to escape.

Small-scale fisheries (SSF): Artisanal or community-based fishing operations using low-technology gear and limited capital.

References

1. Bycatch in drift gillnet fisheries: A sink for Indian Ocean cetaceans. Conservation Letters (2024).
2. A socio‐psychological approach for understanding and managing bycatch in small‐scale fisheries. People and Nature (2023).
3. Illuminating gillnets to save seabirds and the potential for multi-taxa bycatch mitigation. Royal Society Open Science (2018).
4. Translating the terrestrial mitigation hierarchy to marine megafauna by‐catch. Fish and Fisheries (2018).