Learn About Bycatch – One of the Many Important Shark Awareness Issues Today

Being able to raise shark awareness is considered to be of great significance nowadays, especially since there now happens to be a major threat to shark populations, and one of the biggest reasons that there is now a dwindling number of sharks living in today’s oceans is something called bycatch.

Simply put, bycatch is a term used whenever certain types of fish become unintentionally caught in a fishery that is intended to catch specific types of fish. Bycatch usually results in the death of millions of different marine life which includes an estimate of 50 million sharks being killed annually.

Back in the day, fisheries would have to go through the tedious process of cutting their bycatch loose and releasing them back into the water. But now, a lot of fisheries opt for the profitable option of slicing off shark fins which they can then sell at very lucrative prices. The sharks’ bodies, however, are thrown back into the ocean where they are left to either drown or bleed to death since their meat is not of much value on the market.

Many of today’s shark awareness campaigns are looking to raise consciousness regarding these issues, especially since sharks play a very important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. If you would like to learn more about bycatch and other reasons behind the dwindling shark population in our ocean’s waters, we encourage you to speak with a shark awareness group for more information.