‘Bycatch’

Commercial fishing boats leave their ports in pursuit of specific species of fish, but their hooks and nets bring up thousands of other marine animals as well. Sharks, sea turtles, birds, seals, whales, and nontarget fish who get tangled in nets and hooked by long-lines are termed “bycatch” and are thrown overboard. By some estimates, shrimp trawlers discard as much as 85 percent of their catch, making shrimp arguably the most environmentally destructive fish flesh a person can consume.