The World Wildlife Fund called on European Union leaders to combat the discard practice that depletes the oceans without commercial advantage to fishermen.

The call comes ahead of the annual EU Fisheries meeting in Brussels.

Aaron McLoughlin, head of the WWF Marine Programme said the EU nations will seek to revamp the way fishermen hunt the Atlantic in order to give the industry better catches.

"In the North Sea there is 24-thousand tons of cod are caught and 23-thousand tons of cod are thrown overboard, discarded. We think this is a crazy system. European Commission and member states said they were going to address it this year. Stop the madness of discards. It can be done. "
Key in the upcoming negotiations will be measures to address wasteful practice of throwing fine fish overboard because they do not meet certain catch quotas or commercial and environmental standards.

Karoline Schacht is Fisheries Policy Officer with WWF Germany.

"We believe that these are long term investments who will over time turn out to increase profitability; because without these measures we will not have any fish left from which the fishermen make a living."

During detailed talks in Brussels, ministers will debate, for example, what nets fishermen should use in certain waters to catch prawns while allowing bigger species, such as young cod, to escape.

If a deal is struck, it will force fishing nations like France, Britain and Spain to accept restrictions that may hurt in the short term, but replenish the Atlantic for future generations.