Natural Environment Blog

A million tonnes of fish and other marine life caught in the North Sea is thrown overboard every year, according to a new study by WWF-Germany.

The resulting report, entitled “Sea Creatures Are Not Rubbish”, says that one-third of all North Sea catch ends up back in the sea. In other words, for every tonne that ends up at the fishmonger, two tonnes were thrown back into the ocean. 

The discarded creatures are usually referred to as “bycatch”. Bycatch is any species caught in a fishery that wasn’t supposed to be - often because it’s the wrong species or it’s too small. 

The main problem with bycatch is that, most creatures are dead or close to death by the time they’re thrown back into the ocean. This represents a huge threat to marine life all over the world. Each year, millions of turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, and seabirds, right through to juvenile fish, corals, crabs and starfish etc are killed and tossed back into the ocean.

And it’s not just a conservation problem. It’s also a problem for the fishers themselves.

“Bycatch costs fishers time and money,” says Amanda Nickson, Head of WWF’s Bycatch Initiative. “It contributes to the already critical problem of over-fishing, it jeopardizes future revenue, jobs and long-term food security.”

“It is also a major killer of marine wildlife. How many more reasons do you need to change the way we fish?” she adds.

Different target species result in different degrees of bycatch. For example, the report says that for every kilogram of Dover sole (Solea solea) that found its way to the fishmonger, six kilograms of bycatch had been thrown overboard. The study also found that every kilogram of Norwegian lobster or scampi results in five kilograms of bycatch.

WWF says that every year several million sharks and up to 250,000 sea turtles are killed in fishing operations designed to catch other species.

“Bycatch is an incredible waste and one of the largest threats to many sea creatures,” said Karoline Schacht, Fisheries Policy Officer, WWF-Germany. “The drama happens far away at sea but this unseen wastefulness must come to an end.”

WWF has been working on the bycatch issue arround the world, and currently has 70 bycatch projects in over 40 countries.

Here’s the full report (written in German): Sea Creatures Are Not Rubbish [PDF, 1.03 MB]

Researchers have discovered giant marine life in the seas of the Antarctic.

The discovery was made during a 50 day voyage in the Ross Sea. New Zealand Marine Scientist, Don Robertson said that they found “Huge sea snails, jellyfish with tentacles up to four metres long and starfish the size of big food platters”.

The voyage, which covered 3,200 km, resulted in 30,000 specimens, making it the most comprehensive survey to date. Among the specimens, were about 90 different species of fish, eight of which could be a previously undiscovered species. There are at least eight new molluscs and a range of new invertebrates too. Analysis of all 30,000 specimens could take up to two years.

The survey covered all levels of the water, from the surface to the sea floor - 3,500 meters deep.

The survey is part of the International Polar Year program, which involves 23 countries and 10 other voyages around the Antarctic. The voyages will continue until July 2009.