During its meeting in Rome from 22 to 26 October, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) endorsed a series of important measures to “improve the critical situation of fish stocks”, explains a press release from this regional organisation for the management of fishing activity in the Mediterranean and North Sea.
Consensus was reached by the GFCM during its 42nd session, held at the seat of the FAO, “on all new proposals presented”.
A total of 11 recommendations on important fishery-related aspects were adopted. These binding decisions relate in particular to multiannual management plans for trawl fisheries in the Levant, the Ionian Sea and the Strait of Sicily; conservation measures for sharks and rays; a multiannual management plan for European eel in the Mediterranean; and further emergency measures for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea.
In addition, important decisions towards improving monitoring control and surveillance were adopted, such as international joint inspection and surveillance schemes outside the waters under national jurisdiction in the Strait of Sicily and the Adriatic Sea, the marking of fishing gear, and access to information and data related to monitoring, control and surveillance.
Given the growing focus on non-indigenous species that are transforming Mediterranean and Black Sea ecosystems, the Commission also agreed to create a monitoring network for such species, a first for the region, as well as regional research programmes for blue crab in the Mediterranean and for rapa whelk in the Black Sea.
The European Commission takes the view that such measures are concrete deliveries of political pledges secured under several declarations (the Malta “MedFish4ever” declaration and the Sofia declaration for the Black Sea). It states: “The newly-adopted measures will help improve the state of fish stocks and the economic prospects in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins”. This regional cooperation can therefore significantly contribute to the urgent goals of bringing the stocks to a sustainable level and ensure a viable future for the sector, the Commission is pleased to state.
The EU will continue to support ongoing cooperation between Algeria, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia in the implementation of control, monitoring and surveillance measures in the Strait of Sicily. Furthermore, a pilot project for reinforcing integrated monitoring and control measures in the Black Sea will be launched. Both measures will be coordinated by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).
The GFCM also decided to organise two high level events in June 2019: - follow-up to the “MedFish4Ever” declaration in order to evaluate progress made since 2017, and a conference on social development, employment and decent work in small-scale fisheries, reflecting the recently adopted regional plan of action for small-scale fisheries. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)