Since the 1994 publication of a troubling, landmark study, the United States has led the way in the effort to reduce "bycatch."
Bycatch is the term used to described fish hooked or netted inadvertently, fish of lesser or no value to the commercial fisherman, fish of a species that puts the boat over its limit or of a species protected by "no-catch" rules.
In simple terms, bycatch is a byproduct of the legal catch and is wasted — typically just shovelled overboard. The waste has troubled Gloucester for a long time.
Here in New England waters, bycatch became illegal on May 1, under the catch share regime ordered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If industry analysis proves correct, that change in the rules threatens to put some fishermen out of business.
The rules require the landing of all legal-size fish caught in federal waters, including those landed by accident.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.