Washington – Commercial fisheries in the U.S. kill more than a pound of fish for every 4 pounds intentionally caught, jeopardizing efforts to restore some struggling stocks, scientists said Wednesday.
A tally of the nation’s yearly unintentional “bycatch” – unwanted fish that are caught and, in most cases, die before being thrown overboard – was conducted by scientists Jennie Harrington, Andrew Rosenberg and Ransom Myers.
Their peer-reviewed study, sponsored by the environmental group Oceana and published in the December issue of Fish and Fisheries magazine, found that 1.2 billion tons of fish annually are left for dead with every 4 billion tons caught in commercial nets.
“We can and should do better,” said Rosenberg, dean of the University of New Hampshire’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.
