Oceana´s mission is to protect and restore the world´s oceans. The ultimate goal of Oceana discards campaign is to achieve substantial reductions in bycath of any captured marine wildlife (unless they have a chance of survival).

In this context, on the 28 March 2007, the European Commission presented the Communication “A policy to reduce unwanted by-catches and eliminate discards in European Fisheries”.

Oceana demands actions to reduce bycatch and proposes a set of measures to implement them in an efficient way. As such, a discard ban accompanied by other important measures (improvement of gear selectivity, real-time area closures, obligation to switch fishing grounds, etc.), represents, based on a fishery by fishery approach, a necessary option that must be implemented.

Oceana is fully aware that is the best way to reach sustainability of fisheries and ensure the conservation of marine ecosystems.

• Oceana understands that a discard ban is a fundamental step to achieve sustainable conservation objectives before the collapse of some fisheries is confirmed. This ban would give precise information about the magnitude of bycatch and discards, and would act as the impetus to encourage the involved parties to look for urgent solutions.
• Oceana also promotes a set of measures to mitigate pressure on both target and non-target species and allow reconstitution of stocks. These are closed areas, real-time area closures and obligation to switch fishing grounds when by-catches levels are too high and/or when juveniles are observed in defined proportions in the haul.
• Measures to increase gear selectivity should be taken. Oceana promotes the idea of Best Available Technology (BAT) in the fishery sector, so boats should evolve towards using more selective techniques and their use be promoted with, for example, preferential access to fishing areas. At the same time, a prohibition of gears permitting high grading on board and the phasing-out of the worst fisheries gears has to be planned.
• Oceana highly recommends EU fisheries Ministers to define real TACs and quotas, by considering what is actually removed from biological stocks; that is, not only landings but also discards. Indeed, real catches also include discards, catches made by illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries, ghost fishing and species caught for aquaculture.
• It is also necessary to reinforce control measures and observer coverage to ensure observance and an equal and impartial system.
• Oceana proposes transitionary periods with technical specifications to be progressively applied prior to permanent implementation.

Oceana emphasizes that the combined measures proposed to reduce unwanted by-catches, including a discards ban, will not be successful tackling the problem if a balance between fishing capacity and fish resources is not found. Therefore, Oceana urges the European Commission and the Member States to adapt the national fleets as a priority.