: © OCEANA / Juan Cuetos

1.-Difference between discards and bycatch.

By-catches

By-catches are the portion of the catch that is not targeted. Organisms are considered as by-catches when:

- the organisms caught have no commercial value (most invertebrate species, some fishes species, birds, marine mammals, turtles…);

- the organisms caught belong to protected species whose fisheries are not allowed;

- the organisms caught have commercial value but their size is below legal limits or the allocated fishing quota has already been reached.

- the organisms caught have commercial value, their size respects legal limits and they correspond to the allocated fishing quota, but they do not belong to the species originally targeted by the concerned fisheries.

Discards

Discards are defined by the FAO as the portion of the catch that is thrown away at sea. The reasons for this practice are various:

- the organisms caught have no commercial value (most invertebrate species, some fishes species, birds, marine mammals, turtles…);

- the organisms caught belong to protected species whose fisheries are not allowed;

- the organisms caught have commercial value but their size is below legal limits or the allocated fishing quota has already been reached.

-the organisms caught have commercial value but this is less than that of other specimens caught. This phenomenon is known as “high grading”, in which the haul is sorted to keep the most economically interesting specimens.

2.- What are the quantities discarded in Europe?

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3.- What is the framework proposed by Oceana for the implementation of a discard ban?

Discards ban

	First transitory period 1 to 2 years	Second transitory period Several years	Routine enforcement period
Legal size specimens of commercial species	Yes	Yes	Yes
Juveniles or undersized specimens of commercial species	Yes	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival
Specimens of non commercial species	Yes	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival
Specimens of threatened species	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival
Specimens of protected species	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival	Yes, unless they have a chance of survival
Offal	Yes	Yes	Yes
Discards rate	Current	Progressively reduced to minimum	Minimum
Marketing of previously discarded organisms (except protected species)	Yes	Yes but progressively reduced	No