Leading article: Quotas adrift
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The European Commission's plan to reform the fishing industry is a welcome admission that the so-called Common Fisheries Policy is not working. Unfortunately, it will do little to solve the long-standing problem of over-fishing. Its proposal to phase out "discards" – the practice of throwing up to half the catch back into the sea to avoid exceeding the quota – makes for positive headlines, but will not of itself reduce the quantity of fish caught and landed. Nor can delegating the choice of enforcement and incentives to member states be the whole answer. Without political agreement in Brussels on the size of fishing fleets, there will be no prospect of restoring already dangerously depleted stocks.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments