Countries unite to bolster efforts for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

 This week, 20 countries and the European Union made significant strides towards enhancing the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture by adopting 17 pivotal decisions, including 12 binding recommendations, during the forty-seventh session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), held in Rome, Italy.

The GFCM is the regional fisheries management organization with the authority to issue binding recommendations for fisheries and aquaculture development in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. At its annual session, GFCM members engaged in meaningful discussions to review and endorse proposals for recommendations and resolutions, all based on the best available scientific advice.

"This annual session concluded a year of intense, collaborative efforts and demonstrated the continued commitment of GFCM members to address the ever- increasing challenges facing the fisheries and aquaculture sector in our region," said Miguel Bernal, GFCM Executive Secretary.

Healthy seas and productive fisheries

The percentage of stocks experiencing overfishing in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea has dropped to its lowest level in a decade – less than 60 percent – but fishing pressure is still at twice the level considered sustainable, as highlighted in the GFCM flagship publication The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2023. To meet this challenge, the GFCM works on all aspects relevant to sustainable fisheries management.

Decisions adopted this week include the reinforcement of measures addressing the management of numerous GFCM priority species, including European eel, red coral, blackspot seabream, European hake, Norway lobster, European sprat, turbot, rapa whelk, piked dogfish and sturgeons.

In the Adriatic Sea, the finalization of a rigorous management strategy evaluation process supported a landmark decision to establish single species harvest control rules and annual catch limits for sardine and European anchovy, moving away from the joint catch limits enforced until now and promoting ecological sustainability and economic stability.

Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, a small increase in catch limits was adopted for turbot – a key species which has seen a threefold decrease in fishing mortality and a threefold increase in biomass and is now approaching sustainability as a result of the adoption of a multiannual management plan in 2017. This decision aims to incentivize fishers and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while enhancing data collection on fishing effort and discards, and identifying further technical measures to mitigate bycatch.

New fisheries restricted area in the Mediterranean

Spatial management was also in the spotlight, as countries agreed to create a fisheries restricted area (FRA) in the Otranto Channel in the Adriatic Sea. This decision establishes a core area where bottom trawling activities are banned in order to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems formed by bamboo coral and enhance the productivity of marine living resources through the protection of essential fish habitats, such as those of deep-water red shrimps. It also delineates a buffer area, where fishing activities are regulated.

This is the eleventh FRA established by the GFCM and will be comparable in size with the country of Luxembourg.

Support to the sustainable growth of aquaculture

Aquaculture was another crucial component of the discussions held this week, with countries recognizing the progress made towards enhancing the sustainable development of the sector, as well as the numerous assistance programmes established across the region in the past year.

To address the fact that climate change triggers emerging diseases that threaten the sector's productivity and growth, countries agreed to set up a network for monitoring aquaculture diseases and minimizing risks associated with trade.

Principles for responsible investment in aquaculture were also adopted, aimed at enhancing the sector's attractiveness to investors and highlighting its role in food security.

Advances in compliance and enforcement to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

The annual session prioritized strengthening compliance to ensure member countries effectively implement GFCM decisions, thus supporting their commitments to developing and regulating fisheries and aquaculture operations.

Important advances have taken place in recent years and the GFCM has been instrumental in the progress made by many countries in updating their national laws to specifically target IUU fishing as well as in implementing GFCM measures such as the Regional Plan of Action to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the GFCM area of application.

As a result of these efforts, Albania, Algeria, the European Union and its Member States, Egypt, Montenegro, Morocco and Türkiye received GFCM compliance awards during the annual session for integrating GFCM decisions into their legal frameworks and for accurate data reporting.

Last year marked the launch of a new phase towards a more modern framework which allows for closer monitoring of countries' compliance with GFCM decisions. The session largely discussed how to provide countries and the GFCM with the necessary means to advance rapidly on this issue. Countries highlighted that it is essential to enhance compliance assessments and advance the operationalization of monitoring, control and surveillance tools, such as inspection schemes and sightings.