The advice informing GFCM decisions on fisheries and aquaculture relies on a evidence-based, participatory process: data are collected at the national level, analysed by experts and translated into technical proposals that are then channelled through the dedicated GFCM scientific advisory committees.
The resulting advice is used to inform the binding recommendations and non binding resolutions that contracting parties adopt at the GFCM session, thus underpinning the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources and the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
During the GFCM session, contracting parties also determine and inform GFCM activities for the next intersessional period, and the advisory process cycles back to the beginning. Compliance and enforcement measures are threaded throughout this process to ensure that mandatory requirements and data quality are effectively implemented.
While the GFCM fisheries and aquaculture advisory processes have a similar overarching structure, each displays unique characteristics.
Fisheries: from raw data to targeted management
The GFCM fisheries advisory process begins when relevant national entities, scientists and other GFCM stakeholders undertake data collection through, inter alia, monitoring programmes, management-oriented research activities, surveys-at-sea and socioeconomic surveys. The targeted GFCM capacity development programmes, MedSea4Fish and BlackSea4Fish, directly support this phase.
Once these data are collected, they are communicated to the GFCM officially through its Data Collection Reference Framework and/or informally through other data transmission mechanisms. Workshops and working groups bring together scientists, technical experts and other stakeholders to harmonize the findings, perform data analysis, elaborate forecasts and identify priorities, thereby providing the basis for scientific advice.
These expert analyses are used to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of management scenarios, guiding management planning through the formulation of technical elements for management. These technical elements reflect subregional specificities and regional priorities.
Based on the findings and scenario evaluations, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries and the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Black Sea (formerly Working Group on the Black Sea) discuss, identify management options and formulate comprehensive advice, including scientific, social and economic aspects, to support GFCM decision-making.
Aquaculture: from science and information to effective governance
The GFCM aquaculture advisory process begins with the collection and sharing of aquaculture-related information by national authorities, research institutions and other stakeholders. Data on production and market are formally submitted through the Information System for the Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (SIPAM).
These data are then enriched by the activities of the Aquaculture Demonstration Centres, which provide tailored capacity development trainings and support the transfer of best practices.
They are reviewed and analysed by the Technical Advisory Groups, which bring together scientists, technical experts as well as stakeholders and assess key issues, identify emerging challenges, opportunities and priorities, providing an evidence base for advice.
Equipped with these outcomes, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture evaluates trends and challenges affecting the sustainable development of aquaculture, identifies effective science‑based strategies, promotes and guides scientific and technical cooperation, and formulates comprehensive advice for decision-making.
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The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025
The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date review of the status and trends of fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
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