At its annual meeting in Málaga (Spain) from 4 to 9 November, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) failed to extend deep-sea protection from bottom trawling.
This setback was denounced on Monday 10 November by the NGOs Oceana and MedReAct, who pointed out that at the GFCM meeting the European Union had supported the launch of pilot studies to assess the effects of extending the ban on bottom trawling.
According to these NGOs, the GFCM’s inaction contradicts international commitments to designate additional Fisheries Restricted Areas to protect fish populations and sensitive habitats, while limiting the impact of destructive fishing methods.
Extending protection to deep sea life would enable overfished stocks to be replenished, vulnerable marine ecosystems to be preserved and the climate resilience of the Mediterranean to be strengthened, they argue.
Helena Álvarez, senior marine scientist at Oceana, is urging the European Union to promote the expansion of the Mediterranean deep-sea trawl ban to at least 800 metres depth in 2026.
Details of the GFCM results: https://aeur.eu/f/jcr (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)