Mitigating the environmental impact of commercial fishing, by avoiding, minimizing and compensating for adverse effects, is core business for fisheries management authorities. The complex interplay of ecological, economic, and social considerations has often resulted in bycatch management being reactive, confrontational and costly. In many cases it is difficult to demonstrate success and to establish whether management has been efficient or effective. This paper proposes standards for bycatch management following reviews of literature, international agreements and management policies, and consideration by technical experts and stakeholder representatives. The standards were developed for Australian Commonwealth fisheries – and from the international fisheries agreements to which Australia is party – but are applicable to other domestic and regional/international governance systems. The proposed standards involve quantifying fisheries bycatch, agreeing on operational objectives, assessing the effects of fishing on bycatch populations, establishing the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures, and evaluating performance. The standards encourage domestic management measures that are consistent with international agreements. The importance of engaging stakeholders is recognised. The standards provide a framework for measuring performance and a checklist of management actions. They have the potential to lead to more strategic and effective approaches to bycatch management, with defined goals, monitoring systems, and adaptive decision-making. This review of past bycatch management, including retrospective application of the standards to mitigation of shark bycatch in an Australian longline fishery, demonstrates that the standards are operationally feasible but that they have not always been applied. Specifically, monitoring the performance of bycatch management measures has not always followed  implementation.