What Is Bycatch?

A cartoon crash course

Video Read time:
Projects: U.S. Ocean Conservation

Navigate to:

  • Table of Contents
What Is Bycatch?

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

"Bycatch" refers to all the fish and other marine creatures incidentally caught or killed by fishing gear. In commercial fishing, this happens on a huge scale: Nets and fishing lines often stretch for miles, indiscriminately snaring all manner of life—including whales, porpoises, sea turtles, and even birds.

Cartoonist Jim Toomey—whose daily comic strip, Sherman’s Lagoon, is syndicated in more than 250 newspapers in the United States—has joined forces with The Pew Charitable Trusts to illustrate "bycatch" and other terms associated with our oceans.

Watch the full ocean terms video series.

Article January 27, 2016

A Visual Glossary of Ocean Terminology

Cartoon crash course
Quick View
Article January 27, 2016

Ocean conservation is essential but sometimes difficult to understand. Pew joined forces with cartoonist Jim Toomey, the artist behind “Sherman’s Lagoon,” on 10 animated videos that explain the complicated concepts that guide efforts to protect our oceans.

RELATED
Topics
Ocean Conservation
Projects
U.S. Ocean Conservation

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A close-up of a jaguar walking across a river toward the camera, with lush greenery in the background.

Article

July 2, 2024 La conservación del jaguar es clave para proteger los humedales del Pantanal de Sudamérica
A setting sun reflects off a large, calm body of water with the thin stalks of trees growing from the water along the near bank and palm fronds overhanging the scene. The silhouette of vegetation is visible on the far bank.

Article

October 23, 2023 Honduras da pasos clave en la conservación del océano y la costa
Paisaje verde de pastizales que crecen en un humedal, rodeados de cerros de mediana altura. Algunos de ellos con algunos manchones de nieve en sus cumbres.

Article

July 3, 2023 Parques nacionales de la Patagonia chilena almacenan el doble de carbono por hectárea que los bosques de la Amazonía

MORE FROM PEW

Why Cancer Resists Treatment Why Cancer Resists Treatment
How Rural America Is Driving Broadband Deployment
Close up view of a person’s hands holding a glass of wine. Alcohol Use Disorder Medication: Safe and Highly Underused
End of Pandemic Funding for Schools Requires Planning