The catches and discards of trawlers, seiners and trammel netters were studied in the Algarve (southern Portugal) using observers onboard commercial ®shing vessels. Species diversity was high, with 236 species recorded as occasionally, frequently or regularly discarded. Mean discard rates per trip were 0.13, 0.20, 0.27, 0.62 and 0.70, respectively, for trammel nets, demersal purse seines, pelagic purse seines, ®sh trawls and crustacean trawls, with high variability in terms of discard volume and discard rate. This was especially so for seiners where from 0 to 100% of the total catch might be discarded. No signi®cant relationships were found between discard quantity or discard rate and characteristics of the ®shing vessels sampled within each me tier (total length, TAB, hp, kW). Based on the above discard rates and the ocial landings, it was estimated that in 1996, Algarve trawlers discarded 9000±13000 tonnes (t) while seiners discarded 5500±8200 t. Discarding practices in these ®sheries are reviewed and the reasons for discarding are presented by species and me tier basis. The results support the need for more studies on the factors contributing to discarding, variability in discard quantities and rates, the fate of discards and their importance to the marine ecosystem, and on ways of reducing by-catch and discarding in these ®sheries.U.S.

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This paper describes the work that has been under way in the Portuguese government hospital sector, with respect to the use of an adapted version of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP). Modifications to the original system were determined through a series of experiments at pilot hospitals and reliability and user profile studies were subsequently conducted using the modified criteria. Results were of great value in terms of the identification and quantification of problems. On average, approximately one in every four non-obstetric admissions and one in every 2 days of stay were deemed inappropriate and 75% of all inappropriate days were related to patients who were ready for discharge. It is expected that the use of the modified AEP will be extended and enhanced over the next few years. In this regard, advantage has already been taken of the implementation of an output-based funding system, combining retrospective statistical analysis of the hospitals' inpatient databases with targeted reviews of individual patients.