How Seafood is Caught: Buoy Gear

Highly migratory species like swordfish can live in the deep cold waters of the ocean. While some methods of fishing this popular seafood species can unintentionally catch and kill other ocean wildlife like sharks, sea turtles, and marine mammals, buoy gear offers a more selective and sustainable approach.
Buoy gear consists of a bite indicator and a float supporting a mainline with hooks set at a minimum depth of 90 meters - placing the hooks below a layer of water in the ocean known as the Thermocline. Most marine life thrives in the warm, oxygen-rich water above this layer, however, other species like swordfish can dive to the cold water beneath it.
This fishing method allows for more selective fishing and significantly reduces the unintentional capture of non-target species. When incidental catches of non-target species do occur, the animals are often released alive as a result of the bite indicator promptly alerting fishers of a catch. In turn, when a swordfish is caught using buoy gear, the meat is fresh and provides fishers with a higher quality product and monetary return.
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