On Monday 22 September, the European Commission adopted its proposals on fishing opportunities for 2026 in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
In the western Mediterranean, the reduction in fishing effort by 2025 has been particularly marked, with an average reduction of 66% for trawlers. Member States were able to implement technical measures to mitigate or even cancel these reductions in fishing days (see EUROPE 13543/5).
For 2026, the proposal does not yet specify the exact reduction figures, but confirms the continuation of the logic of reducing fishing effort and protecting stocks, with a similar approach including possible compensatory measures.
With regard to eel, the Commission is proposing to maintain the six-month closed season for commercial fishing and to confirm the ban on recreational fishing. For the glass eel, commercial fishing would be limited to a maximum period of two months, subject to strict conditions.
In the Black Sea, the proposal includes catch limits and quotas for sprat and turbot. Quota levels for 2026 are aligned with those for 2025: - sprat: 8,032.5 tonnes for Bulgaria and 3,442.5 tonnes for Romania; - turbot: 82.5 tonnes for Bulgaria and 82.5 tonnes for Romania, in accordance with the management plan of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).
See the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/ika
And its annex: https://aeur.eu/f/ikb (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)