EU discards ban: Quotas can switch between species

Quotas of one species can be converted into quota for another species to help manage the forthcoming EU discards ban.

This was confirmed by Richard Lochhead, Scottish fisheries minister, in a recent statement on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform in the Scottish Parliament.

Giving some details of the way the discards ban will be applied, he told Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) vessels will be allowed to transfer up to 9 percent of quota from a target species to cover any unwanted by-catch of another species, although only if the non-target species is within safe biological limits.

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