How the fishing industry can save sharks and seafood with LED lights

Attaching LED lights to fishing nets can prevent the capture sharks and unintended species, while also making nets more efficient for fishermen, a study found. — Bloomberg

LED lights can save more than energy. A first-of-its kind study found that when attached to fishing nets, they dramatically reduce the incidental killing of sharks and other top predators that help keep marine ecosystems healthy and seafood on dinner plates.

Global shark populations have plummeted 71% since 1970, largely due to overfishing and the inadvertent capture of the species in fishing nets, according to a 2021 paper.

The biomass of this "bycatch” of sharks and rays, however, fell 95% when researchers placed green LED lights on more than 16,000 feet of nets off Mexico’s Pacific coast, scientists wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published Thursday in the journal ‘Current Biology.’