Best Practice in the Use of Rights-Based Management to Reduce Discards in Mixed Fisheries

Rights-based fisheries management systems alter the incentives for discarding and harvesting selectivity compared to the alternatives. Nations that have adopted individual transferable quotas (ITQs) in their fisheries generally have comparatively low discard rates. This is partly due to the attributes of the ITQ system and partly due to clever methods adopted by these nations in order to reduce discards in their fisheries.