: the portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally
Examples of bycatch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
By contrast, Shark Guardian estimates approximately 100 million sharks are killed globally each year, including being intentionally targeted for fishing as well as those caught by bycatch in fishing nets.
—
Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
These unintended catches — called bycatch — are not the target species and are thrown overboard.
—Simi Thambi, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Silky sharks are found in tropical waters and frequently are caught as bycatch each year, primarily by small-scale coastal and offshore longline fisheries.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2025
The researchers’ work focuses on monitoring these animals using innovative tagging technologies — including satellite, acoustic, accelerometer, and camera tags to track the sharks’ habitat use, life history, and impacts of bycatch during commercial and recreational fishing activities.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bycatch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
These unintended catches — called bycatch — are not the target species and are thrown overboard.
—Simi Thambi, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Silky sharks are found in tropical waters and frequently are caught as bycatch each year, primarily by small-scale coastal and offshore longline fisheries.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2025
The researchers’ work focuses on monitoring these animals using innovative tagging technologies — including satellite, acoustic, accelerometer, and camera tags to track the sharks’ habitat use, life history, and impacts of bycatch during commercial and recreational fishing activities.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bycatch
Cite this Entry
“Bycatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bycatch. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share