The Issue

Most swordfish caught using longlines
Longlines are a single strand of fishing line that can be many kilometres long and which is set with thousands of baited hooks. These hooks are generally indiscriminate: any marine animal large enough to bite the bait and hook can be caught. As a result, these fisheries suffer from a high level of incidental catch, or bycatch.

A significant number of swordfish are also caught by illegal driftnet fisheries in the Mediterranean. Labelled “walls of death”, driftnets are also indiscriminate, catching any animal that crosses their path.

Species most affecetd by Swordfish fishing
The species most-affected by swordfish fisheries include:

• Sharks: Sharks make up a large percentage of longline catches targeting swordfish — particularly blue shark (Prionace glauca) and mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), both of which are classified as Near Threatened due to overfishing. For example, from 1990-2000, Portuguese swordfish longliners in the North Atlantic caught around 3 tonnes of blue shark for every 1 tonne of swordfish. Similarly, blue shark and mako shark made up 68% of landings by Spanish swordfish longliners in the Atlantic Ocean in 1999, while blue shark made up around 25% of landings by Spanish swordfish longliners in the Mediterranean.
  
  In addition, the illegal, large-scale Moroccan driftnet fishery targeting swordfish for the European market is currently catching one shark for every two swordfish, killing an estimated 100,000 sharks per year. Similar illegal fleets are operated by Italy, Turkey, and France.
  

• Marine turtles: Over 250,000 Endangered loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and Critically Endangered leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are caught annually by commercial longline fisheries for swordfish and tuna around the world. Due to their location and timing, longlines set for swordfish are more likely to interact with marine turtles than those set for tuna. Around half of all marine turtles caught on traditional longline hooks do not survive. In the Mediterranean, surface longlines and driftnet fleets are the major threats to the survival of loggerhead turtles.

• Seabirds: Longline fishing, including for swordfish, is a major cause of seabird mortality in the Mediterranean Sea and South Pacific Ocean. As for marine turtles, longlines set for swordfish are more likely to interact with seabirds than those set for tuna. European species caught on longlines include gannets (Sula bassana), fulmers (Fulmarus glacialis), Manx shearwaters (Puffinus yelkouan), shearwaters (Calonectris spp.), and gulls (Larus spp.).

• Dolphins: The illegal, large-scale Moroccan driftnet fishery targeting swordfish for the European market has been estimated to kill around 16,600 dolphins per year; similar illegal fleets are operated by Italy, Turkey, and France. Population declines due to bycatch are especially worrying for the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), whose last remnant healthy Mediterranean population is located in this sea.

• Marlin: 95% or more of all white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) catches are taken as bycatch in longline fisheries targeting swordfish and tuna. Both these species are overfished and face extinction: in the Atlantic, the blue marlin population is currently just 20% of the pre-longlining (1960) level, while the white marlin population is only 6% of its pre-longlining abundance and declining by 3% each year.

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