General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

The “Fisheries and ecosystem-based management for the Blue Economy of the Mediterranean” project (FishEBM MED) is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and aims to reverse the overexploitation of select commercial marine living resources by enhancing the capacity of Mediterranean countries to manage fisheries through the application of ecosystem-based management tools. The FishEBM MED project is committed to strengthening Mediterranean fisheries management, facilitating a shift towards a more participatory and ecosystem-based approach that engages all relevant stakeholders.  

Expected outputs  

  • Strengthened capacity to manage commercial fisheries, with particular focus on small-scale fisheries
  • Enhanced integration of emerging monitoring, control and surveillance technologies in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
  • Integrated ecosystem-based management tools and ecosystem approach to biodiversity protection and sustainable fisheries
  • Innovative blue economy solutions accounting for the fishery sector
  • Knowledge management and outscaling
Total contribution USD 7 273 973 (USD 5 million GFCM / USD 2.27 million UNEP-MAP)
Duration 2023–2027
Funded by GEF
Implemented by
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • United Nations Environment Programme
Executed by
  • General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)
  • Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP) and its Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC)
Beneficiaries Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye.

News

A decade on: How Port State Measures are locking IUU catches out of markets
A decade on: How Port State Measures are locking IUU catches out of markets
05/06/2026

Ten years ago, the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing reached a major milestone with the entry into force of the FAO...

Türkiye inaugurates a new fisheries control centre to strengthen the fight against IUU fishing
Türkiye inaugurates a new fisheries control centre to strengthen the fight against IUU fishing
08/05/2026

H.E. İbrahim Yumaklı, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye, inaugurated today the new Marmara Fisheries Control Center - the largest facility...

Libya reinforces its involvement within the GFCM to boost food security and coastal livelihoods
Libya reinforces its involvement within the GFCM to boost food security and coastal livelihoods
16/04/2026

Fisheries and aquaculture play a vital role in Libya’s food security and coastal livelihoods. With the longest Mediterranean coastline in Africa,...

The GFCM completes the fourth scientific survey on fisheries resources in Lebanon
24/10/2025

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, the National Council for Scientific...

Turning the tide for Mediterranean fisheries
25/09/2025

The Mediterranean Sea has long been a source of life, culture, and livelihoods for millions of people living along its shores. Leading efforts to protect...

From policy to action: major advances in the fight against IUU fishing
05/06/2025

The International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is not merely a note on the calendar. It is a global...

The FishEBM approach: bridging conservation and coastal livelihoods
05/05/2025

The Mediterranean and the Black Sea are treasures of marine biodiversity providing essential economic resources for coastal communities and beyond....

Fisheries restricted areas and how the GFCM contributes to biodiversity conservation
26/02/2025

Two decades ago, the GFCM established the first fisheries restricted area (FRA) in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in support of fisheries management....

From coast to coast: enhancing cooperation to eradicate IUU fishing in the Mediterranean 
16/12/2024

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a major threat to marine ecosystems, undermining sustainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation....

Towards healthy ecosystems: the GFCM’s multifaceted approach to mitigating interactions between fisheries and vulnerable species
03/07/2024

The Mediterranean and Black Sea region, despite its susceptibility to climate change and other impacts, remains one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots...

GEF Council endorses two FAO/GFCM projects supporting sustainability in Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries
03/06/2020

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has endorsed two projects of more than USD 12 million to reverse the overexploitation of select commercial fisheries...

Insights from the region

Morocco (A Bahr News) | الفنيدق: لقاء يستعرض نتائج مشروع FishEBM Méditerranée الإقليمي لانتشال الشباك الشبحية وحماية النظم البيئية البحرية

احتضنت مدينة الفنيدق لقاءً خصص لتقاسم واستعراض نتائج المرحلة الأولى من مشروع FishEBM Méditerranée، الذي يهدف إلى تعزيز حماية النظم البيئية البحرية والحد من آثار شباك الصيد المفقودة أو المهجورة، المعروفة بـ« شباك الشبحية »، وذلك في إطار مشروع ممول من طرف مرفق البيئة العالمي (GEF)، وتنفذه الهيئة العامة لمصايد أسماك البحر الأبيض المتوسط (GFCM) التابعة لمنظمة الأغذية والزراعة للأمم المتحدة (FAO).

Morocco (Alouma24, Al Bahr News) | Ghost gear retrieval in Fnideq 
Under FishEBM, a ghost-gear retrieval operation along the Moroccan coast was carried out, followed by awareness raising activities.  

Lebanon (Ministry of agriculture) | وزارة الزراعة اللبنانية تطلق المسح العلمي الرابع للموارد السمكية على السواحل اللبنانية بالشراكة مع

أطلقت وزارة الزراعة اللبنانية، بالتعاون مع منظمة الأغذية والزراعة للأمم المتحدة (FAO)، واللجنة العامة للمصايد في البحر الأبيض المتوسط (GFCM)، والمجلس الوطني للبحوث العلمية (CNRS)، المسح العلمي الرابع للموارد السمكية على طول السواحل اللبنانية. ويُقام هذا المسح، الذي يستمر من 5 إلى 20 تشرين الأول 2025، على مدار 12 يومًا، ويستند إلى نجاح ثلاثة مسوحات سابقة أجريت في أعوام 2021 و2022 و2023. وتهدف هذه المسوحات إلى توفير بيانات حيوية لتقييم المخزونات السمكية، وتحديد المناطق التي تتجمع فيها الأسماك الصغيرة والبالغة، ورسم خرائط المواطن والأنظمة البيئية الحرجة.

Italy (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) | Conclusa a Procida la Conferenza "The sustainable management of fisheries and marine biodiversity"

Dal 11 al 13 settembre, sull'isola di Procida, nel golfo di Napoli, si è tenuto un evento internazionale sulla gestione sostenibile delle risorse biologiche marine e la tutela della biodiversità marina, che ha visto la partecipazione della Commissione Generale per la Pesca nel Mediterraneo (CGPM) della FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), dell’Università di Napoli L'Orientale, dell’AssIDMer e del Cnr.

Türkiye (SÜR-KOOP)| FishEBM approach: bridging conservation and coastal livelihoods

The Mediterranean and the Black Sea are regions rich in marine biodiversity, providing vital economic resources for coastal communities and beyond. In recent years, significant progress has been made in reducing overfishing, with the share of stocks subject to overfishing dropping below 60% for the first time, following a declining trend that began a decade ago. However, despite these positive developments, the sector is still under pressure, with fishing intensity remaining at about twice the level considered sustainable. To address this situation, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved two projects in 2022 aimed at tackling overfishing in the region and promoting sustainable fisheries practices.

Türkiye (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)| Monitoring meeting of the project

Within the framework of the FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture, a monitoring meeting of the project ‘Fisheries and Ecosystem-Based Management for the Blue Economy of the Mediterranean – (FishEBM MED)’ was held on 18 June 2025 in the meeting hall on the 1st floor of the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Contacts

Anna Carlson
FishEBM Projects Manager