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:
“Besides, our action on each other, good as well as evil, is so incidental and at random, that we can seldom hear the acknowledgments of any person who would thank us for a benefit, without some shame and humiliation. We can rarely strike a direct stroke, but must be content with an oblique one; we seldom have the satisfaction of yielding a direct benefit, which is directly received.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Like a frog, the aphorist waits for something to fly by that he can catch with his tongue.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)