- WHY IT MATTERS: Beth Babcock, an ocean scientist at the University of Miami, says fisheries bycatch is a serious threat to ocean life.
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The majority of seabirds, sea turtle species, and many shark species killed in southern African waters are listed as threatened with extinction by the IUCN (World Conservation Union), the World Wildlife Fund said.
Elliott Norse, Marine Conservation Biology Institute/Marine Photobank A skate is one of many bycatch species caught in a shrimp trawler's net in Baja California, Mexico.
According to the WWF, incidental capture -- known as bycatch -- also kills some 34,000 seabirds and 4,200 sea turtles every year in an area known as the Benguela ecosystem off the west coasts of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola.
The animals get caught on baited hooks put out on long lines by fishing boats targeting tuna and hake.
