Report of the Second Workshop on The Biology and Conservation of ...

4.4 TerminologyThe term “by-catch” is generally understoodto mean anything that is caught in additionto <strong>the</strong> target species <strong>of</strong> a fishery. It is <strong>of</strong>tenused interchangeably with <strong>the</strong> term “incidentalcatch,” implying that <strong>the</strong> catch is accidental,unintended, and not desirable (e.g., “trashfish”). In practice, however, <strong>the</strong>re is considerableambiguity surrounding <strong>the</strong>se terms. In SE Asia,<strong>the</strong> distinction between catch and by-catch is <strong>of</strong>tenobscured by <strong>the</strong> fact that fisheries have multipletarget species and that almost anything that iscaught has value (whe<strong>the</strong>r for commercial sale, useas bait, or domestic consumption). Defining bycatchbecomes more complicated when <strong>the</strong> targetspecies is/are present in very low densities (butpossibly high value), and when <strong>the</strong> target shifts toinclude one or more <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> by-caught species. Ina number <strong>of</strong> countries (e.g., Peru, Sri Lanka, and<strong>the</strong> Philippines), cetaceans were initially taken asa true by-catch (unwanted) in certain fisheries buteventually became intended targets as marketsdeveloped for <strong>the</strong>ir meat and as communitiescame to regard <strong>the</strong>m as food resources. Somefishermen in <strong>the</strong>se countries now intentionallyset driftnets, for example, in areas where <strong>the</strong>y arelikely to take ei<strong>the</strong>r cetaceans or o<strong>the</strong>r valuablespecies (tuna, billfish, sharks). All are desired andused. Throughout SE Asia, any catch <strong>of</strong> a dugongby a non-commercial fisherman is likely to bewelcomed as a source <strong>of</strong> good food and cashpotential (tusks). Therefore, to regard dugongcaptures as by-catch can be very misleading.There was considerable discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problem<strong>of</strong> terminology, and workshop participants agreedto <strong>the</strong> following principles in this regard:By-catch needs to be recognized as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>catch, and <strong>the</strong>refore affected stocks should bemanaged for sustainability regardless <strong>of</strong> whe<strong>the</strong>r<strong>the</strong>y are targets <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fishery or whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y areutilized. The naming <strong>of</strong> fisheries is important. Thosethat target a combination <strong>of</strong> species should belabeled as such, e.g., tuna-and-dolphin fishery, orbillfish-shark-and-small cetacean fishery.By-catch, whe<strong>the</strong>r it is discarded or utilized, needsto be documented quantitatively and taken intoaccount as exploitation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> resource.Simply declaring by-catch as illegal does notsolve <strong>the</strong> by-catch problem. In fact, it is likely toexacerbate <strong>the</strong> problem by forcing fishermen toconceal information.Some local, small-scale fisheries may best bedescribed as opportunistic. Ano<strong>the</strong>r approach todefining classes <strong>of</strong> catch might be to identifyprimary, secondary, and unwanted species that aretaken in a given fishery. Kahn proposed a system<strong>of</strong> terminology as follows:1) Primary catch - <strong>the</strong> commercial target species(in SE Asia <strong>of</strong>ten a “wish-list” item, a bonus highvaluespecies).2) <strong>Second</strong>ary catch - also called by-product, catchthat is kept or sold but is not primarily a targetspecies (in SE Asia this is <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> catchand secondary catch species may become primarycatch due to over-exploited fisheries)3) Discarded catch - species that are returned to <strong>the</strong>sea ei<strong>the</strong>r because <strong>the</strong>y have no commercial value,or because regulations do not allow <strong>the</strong>m to belanded and sold (in SE Asia this may be minimal,as most non-commercial species can be consumedlocally or used as bait)4) Catch interactions with fishing gear - catch thatdoes not reach <strong>the</strong> deck <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fishing vessel butis affected by interaction with <strong>the</strong> fishing gear(including lost fishing gear).<strong>Second</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> on <strong>the</strong> Biology and Conservation <strong>of</strong> Small Cetaceans and Dugongs <strong>of</strong> SE Asia 91