THE DISCARDS PROBLEM - TOWARDS A EUROPEAN SOLUTION

The discarding of marine biomass is an acute problem in developed fish eries. It is symptomatic of a flawed and inconsistent strategy for the reduction of fishing effort. Using the example of the Common Fisherie s Policy, the paper argues that a reduction in discards can only be ac hieved through the realignment of policy instruments, greater collabor ation between regulators and resource users, and closer integration of policy and market behaviour. Proposing a minimum discards strategy, t he authors stress the need for regional sensitivity in the implementat ion of conservation measures, and outline a case for the devolved regi onal management of fisheries.