National Policy on Fisheries Bycatch.

National Policy on Fisheries Bycatch (1999) has as over-arching objective to ensure that bycatch species and populations are maintained at sustainable levels. Within this are the following sub-objectives: 1) To reduce bycatch; 2) To improve protection for vulnerable/threatened species; 3) To minimise adverse impacts of fishing on the aquatic environment. "Bycatch", in this document, includes discards and also that part of the "catch" that is not landed but is killed as a result of interaction with fishing gear. While the term bycatch may refer to all non-targeted catch, including by-product, discards and gear interactions, this Policy will deal specifically with those aspects of bycatch that are not currently subject to management provisions.