Bycatch describes living creatures that are caught unintentionally by fishing gear.
This returned bycatch is called discard. The problem Everyone who fishes, whether for a living or recreation, catches bycatch. Although this discard may serve as food for other species when it is thrown back, it is not recruited into, and does not become a part of, the reproducing population. As a result, discard not only affects the current population, but influences the species' opportunity to replenish itself. It is possible to catch any mix of whiting, flounders, hake, squid, cod, butterfish, or other species on a given day in a given place.