General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean - GFCM

GFCM activities

FISHERIES

Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries feature a great variety of target species, vessels and fishing gears and play an extremely important socioeconomic role in the whole region. The mandate of the GFCM is to ensure the sustainability of fisheries activities through the adoption of adequate management measures.


AQUACULTURE

Aquaculture is playing an increasingly important role in food security, employment and economic development, while also reducing pressure on the region’s overexploited wild fish stocks. The GFCM is working towards the blue transformation of Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture in order to create a fair and sustainable sector that is productive, profitable and globally competitive.


ENVIRONMENT

As fisheries and the marine environment and ecosystems across the Mediterranean and Black Sea face growing pressure from a range of anthropogenic sources, it’s critical that action is taken to manage their long-term sustainability. Productive fisheries and aquaculture operations require healthy seas, and conserving the marine environment is a central aspect of the GFCM’s work.


COMPLIANCE

The GFCM adopts binding recommendations for fisheries management and aquaculture development in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, which must then be transposed into national legislation by all GFCM Contracting Parties and cooperating non-Contracting Parties.