Bycatch of protected, endangered, and threatened species (PETS)

ICES summarizes new bycatch information on marine mammals, seabirds, and marine turtles in 2019 and 2020, based on reported bycatch data received through an ICES data call. The available monitoring data for 2017–2020 are used to highlight species, métiers, and ecoregions where bycatch may be of particular concern. The average bycatch rate of marine mammals was 0.03 specimens per monitored day-at-sea. A high bycatch rate (0.6) of the common dolphin Delphinus delphis was observed in bottom pair trawl fisheries in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast. The average bycatch rate of seabirds was 0.1 with higher values being associated with nets and/or line fisheries and the highest bycatch rate (1.2) recorded for the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in set longlines in the Greater North Sea. Bycatch rates of sea turtles were higher in line fisheries in all ecoregions and highest (0.1) for the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta in drifting longline fisheries in the Azores ecoregion. ICES reiterates that monitoring sampling design does not yet allow for robust and unbiased estimations of numbers of sensitive species caught incidentally in fishing activities.