Editing Trawling (section)

== Bycatch ==

=== Bycatch reporting ===
[[File:Shrimp bycatch.jpg|thumb|331x331px|Bycatch from a Shrimp Trawl]]
To ensure a non-biased estimate of [[bycatch]], a fisheries observer, an independent field biologist, is deployed to every US-based trawling vessel when required by the regulations of the fishery. The responsibilities of an observer are to collect data on fishing activity, including areas and depth fished, and gear set and retrieval times; determine catch estimates, including the amount of each species discarded; gather data on individual fish, such as sex, length, and weight; and to compile bycatch data of protected species like marine mammals and seabirds.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-01|title=West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Observer Program |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/fisheries-observers/west-coast-groundfish-trawl-catch-share-observer-program|access-date=2021-12-02|website= fisheries.noaa.gov| publisher= [[NOAA]]|language=en}}</ref> During every trawl the observer is to stand on deck as the catch is sorted and actively estimate the catch weight of each species of bycatch using a standardized method. The data gathered by observers is shared with multiple organizations, including NOAA, which publishes its findings in the annual National Bycatch Reports, which is used to set bycatch limits for protected or regulated species and determine mortality estimates for endangered species. The observer lives aboard the vessel with the crew for the duration of the trip which can last for days or weeks. However, the observer method of monitoring trawls may not be entirely effective. Certain fisheries have bycatch limits that end a vessel's season if exceeded, and anecdotal reports of observers being pressured by crew and captain to lower their estimates have emerged. These reports center around the financial repercussions that the crew, who get paid a percentage of the total catch profits, would face if their vessel is barred from fishing. Although the reports are unverifiable, the observers claim that they underestimated the bycatch at rates of up to 50%.<ref>{{Cite web|title= 'You're out there alone': whistleblowers say workplace abuse hides true impacts of B.C.'s trawl fishery| url=https://thenarwhal.ca/youre-out-there-alone-whistleblowers-say-workplace-abuse-hides-true-impacts-of-b-c-s-trawl-fishery/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=The Narwhal|date=6 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In 2006, an electronic method of observing bycatch that does not require an in-person observer was introduced in Canada. The monitoring method utilizes video cameras that record the retention or discarding of all fish at the hauling site during all fishing events and log time and GPS information. The data gathered from the cameras is used in conjunction with the vessel's logs and dockside monitoring of the catch as it is being unloaded to construct an estimate of the total bycatch. Each of three data sets are also used to verify one another and can alert fisheries management to dishonest practices.<ref>{{cite report|last1=Stanley|first1=R|last2=McElderry|first2= H.|last3=Koolman|first3=S.|date= 2009|title=Monitoring Bycatch: a Fishing Industry Generated Solution|pages=1–16|location=Copenhagen| website= ices.dk |publisher= International Council for the Exploration of the Sea| access-date=December 1, 2021|url= https://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/CM%20Doccuments/CM-2009/M/M0509.pdf}}</ref>

Some fisheries, in the US and abroad, do not mandate an observer while the vessel operates. In these fisheries, the bycatch data is either self-reported or not reported at all. In some instances, fisherman voluntarily self-report their bycatch data to oversight bodies. The fisheries with unmonitored trawls often catch bycatch that is not as valuable as the bycatch monitored fisheries or utilize midwater trawling which yields less bycatch than the more standard bottom trawling. Fisheries that forgo bycatch reporting are encouraged by organizations such as NOAA to report their bycatch to aid the effort of tracking the health of the fishery. As the health of the ocean in the future is uncertain due to climate change and other factors, providing biologists with accurate data about a source of fish mortality is essential to preserve the renewable resource that is wild caught seafood.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=2021-11-18|title=Understanding Bycatch|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-bycatch |website= fisheries.noaa.gov |access-date= 2021-12-02| publisher=NOAA|language=en}}</ref>

=== Cost ===
Regardless of the ecological effects of trawling, the cost of bycatch as trawlers operate poses an economic issue. It is estimated by [[Oceana (non-profit group)|Oceana]] that, worldwide, fishermen lose at least $1 billion worth of potential catch annually due to the disposal of bycatch.<ref name=":02">{{cite report|last1=Keledjian|first1=A.|last2=Brogan|first2=G.|last3=Lowell|first3=B.|last4=Warrenchuk|first4=J.|last5= Enticknap|first5=B.|last6=Shester|first6=G.|last7=Hirshfield|first7=M.|last8=Cano-Stocco| first8=D.| display-authors= 3| date= March 2014|title= Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries| publisher= [[Oceana (non-profit group)|Oceana]] | website= Oceana.org |url=https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/Bycatch_Report_FINAL.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323015458/https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/Bycatch_Report_FINAL.pdf|archive-date=March 23, 2021}}</ref> Any animal that is caught and discarded as bycatch often dies and cannot reproduce, negatively impacting the stock of the species.<ref name="auto"/> Bycatch is not limited to only inexpensive species of fish. Often, well known and prized fish species are disposed of as bycatch due to size and sex restrictions or because the vessel's permit does not include the species. The highest cost associated with the bycatch of a single species is [[Pacific halibut]], worth an annual $58.7 million. For halibut the massive bycatch cost can be attributed to trawlers catching more halibut as bycatch than the halibut fishery catches total. In 2014, seven times as many halibut were caught and discarded as trawl bycatch then in the directed fishery.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 19, 2015|first=Esther|last=Kennedy|title= Halibut Bycatch: a Disappointing Update|url=https://www.sitkawild.org/halibut_bycatch_a_disappointing_update|access-date=2021-12-02|website= sitkawild.org | publisher=Sitka Conservation Society}}</ref>  Additionally, other prized fish species have an immense bycatch cost, the most costly are [[Sea trout]] worth $45.5 million, [[Placopecten magellanicus|Atlantic sea scallop]] worth $32.7 million, [[red snapper]] worth $27.2 million, [[summer flounder]] worth $7.2 million, [[red grouper]] worth $6.7 million, [[Atlantic cod|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific cod|Pacific]] cod worth $6.7 million, [[Chionoecetes bairdi|Tanner crab]] worth $4.6 million, [[king mackerel]] worth $4.3 million, [[Sole (fish)|sole]] worth $3.9 million, [[bluefin tuna]] worth $3.4 million, [[Chinook salmon|Chinook (king) salmon]] worth $1.4 million, and swordfish worth $1.3 million.<ref name=":02" /> The aforementioned estimates were determined using the wholesale market price that fishing vessels sell their fish to processors for, which is often cents on the dollar compared to the price at a store and were determined using bycatch reports from observed vessels, which have a dedicated observer to estimate the amount of bycatch a vessel captures and could be less than the true values.

Current estimates from [[Oceana (non-profit group)|Oceana]] find that 10% of all fish caught worldwide is disposed as bycatch, with some vessels returning more bycatch than what they keep per trawl.<ref name=":02" /> This lost potential catch of fish equates to upwards of 60,000 potential jobs for fisherman that would be needed to catch the same amount of fish in a directed fishery.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2014-07-18|title=Bycatch Costs Our Fisheries, and our Fishermen|url=https://sustainablog.org/articles/bycatch-really-cost-fishermen-fisheries/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Sustainablog|language=en-US}}</ref> Due to regulation, generally trawlers are unable to land and sell protected or regulated species caught as bycatch. Those who oppose trawling assert that since bycatch rarely returns to the ocean alive, the practice does not promote sustainable economic behavior, as each fish caught as bycatch from trawling becomes a waste product rather than being sold and eaten. Often fishermen have the means and knowledge to reduce the amount of bycatch, yet they lack the economic incentives. Examples of strategies to economically incentivize reducing bycatch are individual or pooled bycatch quotas, landings fees, risk pooling, or assurance bonds that have been implemented in other countries to encourage fishermen to adopt better practices.<ref name=":1" /> However, in Alaska some bycatch is utilized in a food share program created by a non-profit organization called SeaShare that is partnered with [[food bank]]s across America. A group ex-trawler fishermen founded SeaShare in 1994 after successfully introducing changes to the [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] regulations to allow for the retention of bycatch solely for use by hunger-relief agencies. Since its inception SeasShare has donated 250 million servings of wild caught Alaskan seafood, totaling {{convert|6,000,000|lb|spell=in}} of utilized bycatch.<ref>{{Cite web|title= About SeaShare| url=https://www.seashare.org/ | website= seashare.org| publisher= SeaShare| accessdate= }}</ref>