Download the report (available only in English): PDF

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Working Group on Fishing Technology (WGFiT), including a session on the interactions between vulnerable species and fishing activities was held online, from 27 to 28 September 2022. The meeting was attended by around 99 participants, including scientific experts and representatives from the administrations of Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, as well as representatives of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE) and the GFCM Secretariat. It focused on: i) the mitigation of adverse impacts of fisheries on juvenile fish and discards; ii) the mitigation of the incidental catch of vulnerable species (seabirds, cetaceans, sea turtles and elasmobranchs); and iii) the interactions between vulnerable species and fishing activities (incidental catch and depredation. Participants reviewed advances in fishing gear technology to improve the selectivity and rational exploitation of fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The WGFiT particularly underlined the need to strengthen the implementation of technical measures to reduce discards and to mitigate the risk of incidental catch of sea turtles, seabirds, cetaceans and sharks and rays during fishing operations. In this regard, the identified hotspot areas and fleets with higher risks of interactions should be taken into consideration. The participants also discussed priorities in line with the continuation of the existing monitoring programmes, as well as facilitating the extension of such programmes to additional countries that are not yet covered by national monitoring programmes for incidental catch of vulnerable species, depredation and discards, while ensuring the application of standard methodologies (e.g. GFCM protocols). The WGFiT expressed its support for the development of a Regional Plan of Action on Vulnerable Species (RPOA-VUL), emphasizing that the time was ripe to define clear objectives for reducing interactions between vulnerable species and fishing activities, as well as clear and coordinated actions to achieve those objectives. Finally, the WGFiT discussed and proposed a series of actions for the 2023–2024 workplan, to be submitted for the consideration of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries.