A key threat to Gulf fisheries is the unintended taking of marine life in the process of catching a target species. Often, this "bycatch" is thrown back overboard dead or dying. While the most widely known example of bycatch in the Gulf is the shrimp fishery, bycatch exists in all Gulf fisheries leading to significant conservation and management problems.

Unfortunately, contrary to the law, the magnitude of the bycatch problem has not been fully assessed in the Gulf region. However, what we do know gives us great cause for concern. As previously noted, the shrimp fishery is the best known example of bycatch in the Gulf. Scientists estimate that 3.5 pounds of marine life are caught on average for every one pound of shrimp. Considering that the shrimp fishery caught 116 million pounds in 2000 alone, that is 406 million pounds of other marine life caught and killed or injured.

Shrimp Trawl Catch in the Gulf of Mexico  

Commercial fisheries for reef fish such as snappers and groupers have bycatch problems as well. The reef fish longline fishery, a method of fishing where miles of fishing line with baited hooks are placed on the ocean floor, throws back 33 percent of the marine life that is caught. Approximately 18 percent of this bycatch is unable to survive. Traditional hook and line fishing vessels also throwback about 33 percent of the marine life they catch, with approximately 7 percent dead or dying.

The recreational fishery is also plagued by bycatch. Bycatch rates for popular recreational species such as red snapper and groupers range from 50 to 80 percent, with up to 20 percent of this bycatch assumed to be released dead or dying.

To take action to support our efforts to estimate and limit bycatch, please sign onto our bycatch statement of principles. (our solutions/every fish counts link)