MEANING
Animals caught unintentionally while fishing for a different species or size of animal.
Use it for
describing accidental capture in fishing gear; discussing harm to non-target marine animals; distinguishing intended catch from incidental captureDistinguishes unintended capture from the intended catch and from the separate act of discarding animals. Writing functions: Unintended fishing catch.
Words that belong together
- reduce bycatch
- bycatch mortality
- dolphin bycatch
On the page
The trial compared two nets designed to reduce turtle bycatch.
The crew recorded the bycatch separately from the target fish.
Word forms
- Base
- bycatch
Usage notes
Mass noun or countable for a particular incidental catch: bycatch, bycatches. Variant spelling by-catch belongs to this entry. Register: technical. Commonness: moderately common in environmental reporting (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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