European fisheries ministers have concluded a meeting in Brussels with a consensus to effectively scrap current rules that decide fishing quotas.
Environmentalists and fishermen alike have long argued the existing system – set annually – has failed the industry.
Fish caught over quota are dumped back in the sea even if dead, and in the UK alone numbers of fishermen have fallen by a third over the decade.
The European Union has until 2012 to draw up a new Common Fisheries Policy.