The ocean's been running a bit short of fish lately, due in part to the seven million tons of dead "by-catch" thrown back every year. The next generation of trawling net aims to simultaneously save fishing stocks and the fishing industry.
The problem with traditional trawling nets is that they catch everything, marketable and unmarketable fish alike — including the juveniles necessary to maintain a species' population. The SafetyNet, on the other hand, is engineered to catch only legally-sized fish from specific species.
The net employs hydro-speakers and lights to drive fish towards the back where the smaller juveniles can leave through specially-sized "escape rings." The lower section incorporates a wide mesh that Cod can easily navigate but Haddock and Whiting (the target species) cannot. If widely adopted, this new design may drastically reduce the amount of fish thrown back and lessen the impact of commercial fishing on the worldwide fish population. [via SafetyNet]