They do go to waste inside of a perpetual trap though, that’s the point. Stuff gets in, it doesn’t get out to do its thing elsewhere. It dead-ends in the trap. Unless philosophically, you are saying that little microbes will decay them and their atoms will float out eventually.
Not just microbes. Even giant blue finned tuna start out in a tiny larval stage. You know what I mean.
I agree in general it’s not a good thing. Hell, I’ve seen white-tailed deer get their legs all snagged up in barbed wire fences and had to cut them lose.
But I’m not going to suggest they stop using barbed wire. And like I said, I have crab pots in my shed right now, and to use them you have to tie the escape holes shut.
We have the technology. It’s just convincing people to use it. If they chose not to use it and their catch declines, well, ain’t my fault.