Is it crazy to assume that most of the bycatch is not eaten by larger fish and other marine life? I know the seagulls get plenty of it but I have to think that other predatory fish get in on the easy meal as well? I mean they catch Tuna 15 miles out of mouth of the Mississippi behind shrimp boats, I am sure other bigger fish have caught on as well . I worked as a deckhand one summer on a skimmer in southwest pass and I can remember catching 1 speckled trout that was big enough to filet. We would dump the nets in salt saturated brine and skim the dead fish off. It was mostly eels, croakers and needle fish. I have to think that a good portion of by catch would have been consumed by predators if it hadn't ended up in a net. What difference ecologically does it make if the by catch is consumed after its sorted and dumped? Shrimpers don't catch all the shrimp out there, I have to assume the same for by catch. There's always by catch. As for Sea Turtles, I think there would be a lot more of them if they moved out of the way of boats. I've worked and fished offshore long enough to see more than a few plowed into by recreational fisherman, commercial fishing boats, head boats, work boats, pretty much any boat around a rig or platform.
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