In fishing, incidental catch is that part of the catch which was not originally targeted, but was caught and retained anyway. It can be contrasted with
discards Discards are the portion of a catch of fish which is not retained on board during commercial fishing operations and is returned, often dead or dying, to the sea. The practice of discarding is driven by economic and political factors; fish which are ...
, which is that part of the catch which was not originally targeted, but was caught and returned to the sea, and
bycatch
Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...
, which is for all the species caught apart from the targeted species.
The operational definitions used by the
FAO for incidental catch and other related catches are as follows:
[Alverson DL, MH Freeberg, SA Murawski and Pope JG (1994]
A global assessment of fisheries bycatch and discards
FAO Fisheries, Technical paper 339, Rome. .
* Target catch: The catch of a species or species assemblage which is primarily sought in a fishery, such as shrimp, flounders, cods
* Incidental catch: Retained catch of non-targeted species
*
Discarded catch (usually shortened to ''discards''): That portion of the catch returned to the sea as a result of economic, legal, or personal considerations.
*
Bycatch
Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...
: Discarded catch plus incidental catch.
Notes
References
* Johnson, Douglas H; Shaffer, Terry L and Gould, Patrick J (1990
''Incidental Catch of Marine Birds in the North Pacific High Seas Driftnet Fisheries'' U.S. Geological Survey.
* Valdemarsen, John
''Incidental catch of seabirds in longline fisheries''UN Atlas of the Oceans: Fishery Technology Service.
{{fishery science topics, expanded=management
Environmental impact of fishing