Every year, hundreds of thousands of sea birds and marine wildlife, like dolphins and turtles, are caught by fishing boats and tossed back into the ocean - dead or dying.
Stand against the needless loss of life caused by non-selective fishing: Add your name.
Imagine a mile-long fishing net stretching through the dark blue sea. It’s meant for Tuna, Hake and Sea bass, but as it’s hauled to the surface, it isn't just these species stuck in the net.
Entangled in the mesh are dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and seabirds - unintended victims known as bycatch. For these animals, the net isn't a tool; it’s a death sentence.
Bycatch is a global problem, with an estimated 40% of all marine catch being discarded as unwanted or unmanaged species. Some of the most alarming statistics include:
- Over 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises are killed annually in fishing nets.
- An estimated 720,000 seabirds are also killed every year
- Around 250,000 endangered sea turtles are drowned in longline fisheries each year
This catastrophe remains largely invisible, as most victims of bycatch drown without ever washing ashore, and it is one of the gravest threats to our ocean.
We have already launched legal action against France aimed at tackling the appalling impact of bycatch and are researching new legal actions right now.
We want to make it clear to leaders around Europe that we won’t stand for it.
What needs to change?
- Governments MUST have concrete plans to reduce this threat
- Data must be collected so we know the true scale of bycatch
- Laws aimed at monitoring bycatch and protecting marine mammals and seabirds are enforced
If you care about marine life, join the official record against the needless loss of life caused by non-selective fishing.
Read more about our legal action here: NGOs take legal action against French authorities for failing to protect seabirds
