Pacific Marine Conservation Council (PMCC) advocates for ecosystem-based management that fosters sustainable fishing communities. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy was clear in stating, “U.S. ocean and coastal resources should be managed to reflect the relationships among all ecosystem components, including humans and non-human species and the environments in which they live.” We agree.
As PMCC considers important and controversial issues, we think in terms of benefiting the marine environment and the people and livelihoods connected to the sea. In this spirit, we offer the following position statement regarding bycatch.
Perhaps nothing jeopardizes the future of fisheries and the resulting economic benefits as much as unresolved concerns for high rates of discarded catch. The level of discard mortalities is a major concern.
- The incidental take of non-targeted species must be reduced, as mandated in the Sustainable Fisheries Act.
- As management has set vessel trip limits to protect certain species and to provide year round fisheries, the incidence of bycatch/discards has risen, in direct violation to provisions of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, which calls for reduction of discard and bycatch.
- PMCC believes that bycatch will be reduced by implementing an at-sea observer program, continuing gear research, restricting and modifying gear, harvest time and areas fished, and providing economic incentives for those who fish selectively.
- Sale of bycatch to fund research and data gathering, a concept acceptable to PMCC (see data funding), should not be confused with decreasing bycatch and should not be given credit as bycatch reduction.
