Detailed Instructions: In this task, you will be given a passage to read. A fill in the blank question will be given to you.  Your answer should fit the blank appropriately.
Problem: The main conservation threat to the plain maskray is incidental capture by commercial bottom trawl fisheries . In the present day , this is mostly caused by Australia 's Northern Prawn Fishery , which operates throughout its range . Although this species is discarded when caught , it is more delicate @-@ bodied than other maskrays and is thus unlikely to survive encounters with trawling gear . Historically , this species may also have been negatively affected by Japanese , Chinese , and Taiwanese trawlers that fished intensively off northern Australia from 1959 to 1990 . These factors , coupled with the plain maskray 's limited distribution and low reproductive rate , have resulted in its being assessed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) . fill in the blank  :  The main conservation threat to the plain maskray is incidental __________________ by commercial bottom trawl fisheries . 
Solution:
 capture 