4. Accompanying measures to facilitate the discard ban
A commonly asked question with regard to the Norwegian discard policy is how to handle all the ‘illegal’ catches that are now supposedly landed. Questions like this tend to overlook the combined set of measures that lie at the core of the policy. The discard ban, the obligation to change fishing ground, RTCs, the tailoring of quota regulations, gear restrictions and minimum fish and mesh sizes, and the development of more selective gear—all these measures aim at reducing the amount of unwanted catches in the first place. The accompanying measures are discussed below.