Bycatch & the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
Act
- Bycatch is the incidental catch of non-target animals
during commercial fishing operations. These include
species that are not the target of a fishery, such as sea
turtles and seabirds, and species that are targeted, but
are undersized and, therefore, discarded. Under the
original Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (FCMA), bycatch was not recognized as
having a serious impact. Now, it is known that it can be
a leading factor in population declines of a wide range
of marine wildlife. In many fisheries, the majority of
fish that are discarded as bycatch are juvenile target
species that have never had the chance to breed.
Continued loss of large parts of the future breeding
stock is a direct threat to a population's survival.
- Red snapper and sea turtles, for example, have been
severely affected by the Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl
fishery. Until regulations went into effect in May 1998,
for every pound of shrimp caught, more than 4 pounds of
other fish species were caught as bycatch and discarded
dead. Approximately 30 nillion juvenile red snapper were
dying in shrimp trawls each year, ultimately sending the
species into a severe decline. The population was unable
to maintain itself because so many juveniles were lost
before reaching reproductive age. It remains to be seen
whether the new regulations will enable the rebuilding of
the depleted populations.
- Many species caught as bycatch are never monitored,
and, insofar as they have important roles in the marine
ecosystem, the depletion of their populations reverberate
throughout the living community. The loss of millions of
small coastal sharks to shrimp trawls and gillnets in the
Gulf of Mexico has no doubt altered that environment.
Nine out of ten sharks caught in longline fisheries are
unwanted and wastefully discarded. Bycatch accounted for
the loss of 40,000 undersized north Atlantic swordfish to
longlines in 1996 alone.
- Bycatch is primarily a result of using indiscriminate
fishing gear. Although all fishing gear is to some degree
non-selective, much of it can often be modified to reduce
or prevent bycatch. The choice of fishing location and
time of fishing also detetmines the amount of bycatch.
For example, fishing in nursery areas will lead to high
catches of undersized juveniles.
- With the reauthorization of the FCMA in October of
1996 and the passing of the Sustainable Fisheries Act
(SFA), bycatch is now recognized as a serious threat to
maintaining healthy fish populations and ecosystems.
- The FCMA now requires that bycatch be avoided or,
where it cannot be avoided, that the mortality be
minimized. New Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) are
required for all overfished species, and each FMP must
contain management provisions to eliminate or reduce
bycatch of all kinds. Under the SFA, the eight Fishery
Management Councils were required to revitalize FMPs by
October 1998 to:
- Establish standardized reporting methods to assess
the amount and type of bycatch in managed
fisheries.
- Adopt conservation measures that minimize bycatch
through avoidance.
- Minimize the mortality of bycatch that cannot be
avoided.
Missing the Boat, the Marine Fish Conservation
Network and the Center for Marine Conservation, January
1999. (for a copy of the report, please contact
the Marine Fish Conservation Network at
202-543-5509)
Sustaining Marine Fisherics, National
Reseatch Council, National Academy Press, Washington, DC
1999.
Report to Congress - Status of Fisheries of thc
United States, National Marine Fisheries Service,
September 1998.
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