The discard ban and its impact on the MSY objective on fisheries-the North Sea

North Sea fisheries are characterised by numerous biological and technical interactions, which create difficulties in identifying MSY targets and achieving those for all stocks simultaneously. The landing obligation may reinforce these issues, as ‘choke’ effects might be triggered by the least productive stocks.

A flexible management approach can help achieve the multiple objectives, but this requires trade-offs to be made. The ecological benefits of reducing fishing mortality are likely larger than those from the landing obligation itself