A: "Highgrading" is a form of sorting in which more marketable fish are retained and lower value fish are discarded.  Most fisheries have rules which attempt to minimize discarding.  An exception is the lobster industry.  Lobster conservation rules are largely based on requirements to discard undersized, v-notched, and egg-bearing lobsters (Maine law also requires lobsters over a maximum size to be discarded).  A study of commercial lobster catches in Long Island Sound found that over 20 years, 60%-80% of the catch had to be discarded for regulatory reasons.  See the study results.

More recently, managers have also capped the number of traps which can be used in the fishery, after a period of rapidly increasing fishing effort.