In fishing,incidental catch refers to the portion of the catch that was unintentionally caught but retained. It can be distinguished fromdiscards, which are the unintended catch that is caught and then returned to the sea, andbycatch, which includes all non-targeted species caught alongside the targeted species.

The operational definitions used by theFAO for incidental catch and other related catches are as follows:^[1]

• 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 todiscards): That portion of the catch returned to the sea as a result of economic, legal, or personal considerations.
• Bycatch: Discarded catch plus incidental catch.

• Environmental impact of fishing

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