Incidental catch is a term, used in fisheries, to refer to that part of the catch which was not originally targeted, but was caught and retained anyway. It can be contrasted with discards, which is that part of the catch which was not originally targeted, but was caught and discarded, and bycatch, which is the term for all the species caught apart from the targeted species.
Bycatch = Incidental catch + Discarded catch
The operational definitions used by the FAO for incidental catch and other related catches are as follows:
- 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: Discarded catch plus incidental catch.
Famous quotes containing the words incidental and/or catch:
“What has history to do with me? Mine is the first and only world! I want to report how I find the world. What others have told me about the world is a very small and incidental part of my experience. I have to judge the world, to measure things.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“To leave a living name behind,
And weave but nets to catch the wind.”
—John Webster (c. 1580–1638)