Bucharest, Romania – Ministers and high-level representatives from the Black Sea region recently gathered in Bucharest on the occasion of a GFCM High-level Conference towards Enhanced Cooperation on Black Sea Fisheries and Aquaculture where they unanimously adopted a declaration to enhance their cooperation in tackling the most urgent challenges to achieving sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. For the first time in the region, this declaration marks a strong political commitment to adopt a common and collaborative approach to promote the rational exploitation of marine living resources and sustainable aquaculture development, to fight against illegal practices and to mitigate threats to the marine environment. As highlighted by Achim Irimescu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania, this is an important benchmark “in the process of striking a balance between immediate economic interests and the protection of marine fisheries resources in the Black Sea”.

“Black Sea fisheries represent an important resource to ensure food security and these fisheries strongly depend on their ecosystems”, said Cristiana Pasca‐Palmer, Minister for Environment, Waters and Forests of Romania. “It is therefore essential to adopt a systemic approach and integrate environmental aspects in their management”.

All the riparian countries, as well as other important actors in the region, recognized that regional cooperation and synergies were essential for facing the many challenges in the sector. For this reason, they strongly welcomed initiatives such as the BlackSea4Fish regional project which aims to facilitate coordination between national administrations in charge of fisheries and marine environment. The future strategy for sustainable aquaculture development as well as the ongoing mid-term strategy towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries in the region will also be crucial for achieving such goals. “The mid-term strategy is the cornerstone of the dynamic introduced in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea” said Valérie Lainé, Acting Director of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission. “Actions defined within this framework should be implemented as soon as possible”.  

Against this backdrop, the “FAO and its regional fisheries management organization, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, are called to play a leading role in coordinating actions to promote the sustainable use of fisheries resources” stressed Valery Ivanovitch Kuzmin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Romania.

This declaration, as well as the results achieved by the Conference, are particularly relevant in the aftermath of the entry into force of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA). Through these outcomes, an important step has been made towards the wider ratification and implementation of the PSMA in the region.

The High-level Conference was also marked by two important milestones. In light of its increasing interest in GFCM activities in the Black Sea region, the Republic of Moldova took this opportunity to officially request the status of cooperating non-contracting party to the GFCM, as a potential preliminary step towards full membership. Furthermore, a memorandum of understanding was signed between GFCM and Ukraine. This mechanism should enhance the capacity of national experts and institutions dealing with fisheries and aquaculture.

More than 100 participants representing GFCM contracting parties (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey and the European Union), cooperating non-contracting parties (Georgia and Ukraine) and non-contracting parties (Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and the Russian Federation) attended the event together with representatives of international organizations and non-governmental organizations with competency in the region. The FAO Director-General was represented by Jiansan Jia, Deputy-Director, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. This diverse audience was a clear expression of the strong interest and commitment shown by all actors to secure a brighter future for the Black Sea. As noted by Nicolae Dimulescu, President of the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Romania, the road is now being paved towards “a clean sea for happy fishers”.

The programme of the conference and the Bucharest Declaration are available on the meeting’s webpage.

http://www.fao.org/gfcm/meetings/blackseaconference2016/en/