October 8, 2026 — The go-to solution for protecting most marine wildlife is to create designated areas where fishing is strictly prohibited. But when it comes to wide-ranging marine animals — such as fast-moving sharks in the tropical waters of the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador — there’s a catch.
Bycatch, that is.
The long fishing lines of tuna boats can accidentally drift into the marine reserves, and they often catch a lot more than tuna — mainly, sharks, turtles and sea lions. This unintentional capture is called bycatch.
“People think that by setting a reserve, that’s getting to an outcome, but it’s not,” said Leah Gerber, professor in Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences and founding director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes. “We really wanted to highlight that. What are the implications of this and what really would work?”
Gerber led a new study she co-authored that reveals how data, local knowledge and community collaboration can help shape more effective solutions.
The study compared the efficacy of no-fishing conservation areas with bycatch reduction in the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The researchers ultimately found that reducing bycatch was likely to have a higher conservation impact on sharks.