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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The third meeting of the Subregional Committee for the central Mediterranean Sea (SRC-CM) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) was held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 18 to 20 April 2018. The aims of the meeting were to: i) carry out an expert session on non-indigenous species (NIS) in the central Mediterranean; ii) integrate, as appropriate, the assessments of the status of central Mediterranean stocks emanating from the Working Group on Stock Assessment of Demersal Species (WGSAD) and the Working Group on Stock Assessment of Small Pelagic Species (WGSASP); iii) review, integrate and provide comments on the outcomes of the Workshop on the assessment of management measures (WKMSE) for demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily; iv) provide advice in relation to the management of demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily, in accordance with the provisions of Recommendations GFCM/40/2016/4 establishing a multiannual management plan for the fisheries exploiting European hake and deep-water rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily (GSA 12 to 16) and GFCM/41/2017/8 on an international joint inspection and surveillance scheme outside the waters under national jurisdiction in the Strait of Sicily (GSAs 12 to 16); v) address specific issues related to the implementation of Recommendation GFCM/41/2017/6 on the submission of data on fishing activities in the GFCM area of application; vi) propose a list of activities of relevance to the subregion to be considered for the 2018–2019 SAC work plan and, vii) discuss the advancement towards a management plan for bottom trawl fisheries for deep-water red shrimps in the eastern-central Mediterranean (GSAs 12 – 16, 19 – 27).

The SRC-CM formulated draft advice on issues related to fisheries in the subregion, including a summary of the status of the stocks, advice on the management of demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily and measures to manage eastern Mediterranean deep‑water red shrimp fisheries in conjunction with the eastern Mediterranean subregion, a revision of the priority species list according to the needs of the subregion and a detailed work plan for the assessment of these species, including the organization of benchmark assessment sessions. The SRC-CM recommended to carry out further work on the assessment of management measures, including socio-economic analysis and recommended the WKMSE become a permanent working group. Finally, The SRC-CM reviewed the outcomes of the Working Group on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (WGVME), the Working Group on Fishing Technology (WGFiT) and the Workshop on the management of European eel (WKMEASURES-EEL).