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September 29, 2025

How poor control and enforcement is undermining the EU discards ban 

*** Local Caption *** Fish discard and garbage at the port of Burriana, Spain. Oceana Ranger 2012: Expedition to the deep-sea. September 2012. Descartes de pescado y basura en el puerto de Burriana, España. Oceana Ranger 2012: Expedición a las profundidades submarinas. Septiembre 2012.

 

The EU’s ban on discards was meant to end one of the most wasteful practices in fishing: throwing unwanted catch back into the sea. Yet, years after it was introduced under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), countries are failing to enforce it. 

Discarding happens when fishers return part of their catch to the ocean, often dead or dying. In practice, this includes juvenile fish that have not yet reproduced, endangered sharks, turtles, marine mammals and other species that are caught only to be tossed back into the sea. 

The reasons vary: the species might be protected, the fish might be too small, or it may simply have no commercial value. 



Banco de jureles (Trachurus sp.) bajo el Ranger. Montaña submarina Dacia, Montañas submarinas al Norte de Canarias, España. Expedición del Ranger a las montañas submarinas del Atlántico. Septiembre 2014.

The discard ban under the CFP, fully in force since 2019, was supposed to ensure that certain catches from fishing vessels are retained onboard, landed and counted against quotas, giving scientists the data they need to understand the state of the marine life as well as to encourage more selective fishing practices by fishers. But countries are not enforcing the rules. Monitoring and control are weak, and most discards in the EU come from bottom trawling

This is not a small problem. Globally, it is estimated that between 7 and 10 million tonnes of commercial fisheries catches are discarded every year. Without accurate figures in the EU, however, it is impossible to know the real toll on fish populations or to set effective conservation measures. This is due to ongoing unreported discarding, which undermines fish stock assessments and distorts the basis for setting sustainable fishing catch limits. 

In 2021, the European Commission initiated infringement procedures, – against several major EU fishing nations – including France, Denmark and Spain, for failing to enforce the ban – which were later quietly dropped. This decision has been criticised by environmental groups arguing that closing the case without clear evidence member states have corrected the noncompliance, undermines enforcement and credibility. 

Oceana believes there are proven measures that could make a real difference: 

  • Improve the compliance to end illegal discarding of unwanted catches at sea by widely implementing remote electronic monitoring using onboard cameras on fishing vessels, in line with EU Control Regulation  
  • Improve the exchange of information among EU countries and with non-EU countries (that have implemented discard bans), to promote the sharing of best practices for reducing discards. 
  • Improve the selectivity of fishing gear through existing EU funds  
  • Ensure that catch limits account for unreported discards to prevent increased fishing mortality  

The ban on discards can only succeed if EU countries take enforcement seriously and if fishing methods become more selective. Without these changes, the future of many fisheries will be at risk.