Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has told the Commons that Britain is recommending "radical but realistic" reform of the EU's common fisheries policy (CFP).
During the House's annual debate on fisheries policy on 1 December 2009, Mr Irranca-Davies said the next couple of months would be "crucial" to the government's aspirations.
The debate comes ahead of this month's European council meeting to fix quotas, at which he said he was hopeful of getting support from like-minded EU countries.
Shadow fisheries minister Richard Benyon said the UK's fisheries were "struggling" while consumer demand continued to rise.
He said the current system of quota management was not working and encouraged discarding it.
For the Liberal Democrats, Andrew George said the industry had been through a troubled year but was now facing up to some positive developments.
There was a "very good opportunity" for the government to show that conservation and a healthy sustainable industry could work together, he added.
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