There are some alarming facts about the phenomenon of bycatch or that which occurs in non-selective fishing. 20 percent of world catches are discarded and returned to sea without life. More than 300,000 small whales, dolphins, and porpoises die each year when they happen to have been caught in mesh fishing. The method of catching tuna and sword fish kills more than 250,000 loggerhead turtles and leatherback turtles each year, making the latter now critically endangered. The population of leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific has grown from 90,000 adults 90 years ago to less than 2,000 adult females at present. 26 species of seabirds, including 17 species of albatross, are threatened by longlining which kills more than 300,000 a year.

More than four million sharks, sea turtles, and sea mammals are caught each year on longlines in the Pacific Ocean as they fall victim to the non-selective fishing gear. These accidental catches are discarded and returned to sea already without life. Also, millions of tons of non-target species for commercial purposes are wasted each year.

WWF has been organizing a global contest to find innovative solutions and simple practices that can be applied in fisheries, in order to reduce the catch of species that are not wanted for commercial purposes. The initiative is entitled WWF ‘Smart Gear.’ The award winners in 2007 were a team of U.S. inventors who designed a gear that is directed to a particular species while reducing the catch of other marine species such as cod in the North Atlantic. The design is being used at present for fishery on the East Coast of the USA and is being tested in other European fisheries such as those in the UK.

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Via WWF