General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean - GFCM

Major steps forward for fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea


06/11/2021

After a week of intense discussions, the GFCM countries adopted today 35 decisions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

On the occasion of the forty-fourth session of the GFCM, representatives of 21 countries and the European Union met online to review proposals for resolutions and binding recommendations to improve the management and conservation of marine resources across the region, based on the best scientific advice available.

They were joined by representatives of seven cooperating non contracting parties and non-contracting parties as well as ten international and non-governmental organizations. The 170 participants were welcomed by Manuel Barange, Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, on behalf of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), QU Dongyu.


Two years marked by an unprecedented number of achievements

“Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GFCM and FAO have continued to take action and support interventions aimed at promoting more efficient fisheries management systems, minimizing the impacts of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, developing market standards for fishery products, enhancing the role of marine science and showing zero tolerance for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” said M. Barange.

Indeed, during this intersession that lasted from November 2019 to now, the GFCM assessed more than 70 stocks, conducted surveys at sea in multiple countries, worked on the effective implementation of ten management plans, launched two research programmes, organized an SSF Forum with workshops dedicated to small-scale fisheries, provided technical assistance for countries on the establishment of allocated zones for aquaculture, multiplied trainings tailored to the Black Sea region and beyond through its Aquaculture Demonstrative Centres, and produced more than 50 scientific studies, reports, guidelines and publications.


Adoption of ambitious binding recommendations

The GFCM countries reviewed all these activities and many more during this session and adopted an even more ambitious work plan to operationalize the implementation of the GFCM 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The GFCM’s latest achievements benefitted from the extensive and increasing financial support from the European Union, and are also attracting attention of other donors outside the region, such as the Green Environment Fund (GEF), and drawing the interest of countries such as Saudia Arabia, who became a cooperating non-contracting party, with a particular focus on aquaculture.

 

A major focus on compliance to establish a level playing field

The GFCM members adopted as much as 21 binding recommendations and 14 resolutions, on topics ranging from the establishment of management plans for key fisheries to the establishment of fisheries restricted areas, ,the definition of a minimum conservation reference size for priority stocks, lost and abandoned fishing gear, authorized fishing vessels as well as the reporting of non-indigenous species in aquaculture, etc. (See the full list below).

As the effectiveness of these decisions in supporting the GFCM mandate is entirely reliant on their systematic transposition into national legislation by all GFCM contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties, a major focus was put on compliance with more than 12 decisions contributing to the development of a solid framework encompassing monitoring, control and surveillance, measures to deter non-compliance and the fight against illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.

 As the GFCM is thriving to build a culture of compliance and trust, this session was also the occasion to launch the first GFCM Compliance Award, awarded to countries who have submitted all the required data on their fisheries. This year, the award was delivered to the European Union and its Member States as well as to Morocco and Turkey, demonstrating their commitment to the work of the GFCM.

 

Countries bid farewell to the GFCM Executive Secretary praising his legacy

As this forty-fourth session was the last one of the GFCM Executive Secretary, Abdellah Srour, countries paid tribute to the achievements of the GFCM under his leadership at the GFCM Secretariat, praising his "visionary, participatory and empowering approach”.

Mr Srour responded stating that: “the GFCM is first and foremost a family of which I am extremely honored to be a part of. As a family, we have grown together, with a Secretariat which now has more than 80 people between permanent staff, consultants and interns, and a total budget that has increased by more than 600% between 2010 and 2022.”

“These successive transformations have helped make our Commission a more modern and efficient organization, more ambitious and increasingly recognized internationally. We have built all of this together, and I cannot thank enough the GFCM and each one of you for your trust and support over the years.”

Read more about the 44th session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean:

  • New measures to protect marine resources in the Adriatic (EN | IT)
  • Concrete steps taken against ghost fishing in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (EN | FR | SP)

 

Join the discussion online #GFCMCommission

 

The 35 decisions adopted:

  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/1 on the reporting of information on non-indigenous species used in aquaculture
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/12 on a GFCM 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/2 on the definition of a minimum conservation reference size for priority stocks in the Mediterranean Sea
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/1 on the establishment of a fishing effort regime for key demersal stocks in the Adriatic Sea (geographical subareas 17 and 18)
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/2 on the establishment of a fisheries restricted area in the Jabuka/Pomo Pit in the Adriatic Sea (geographical subarea 17), amending Recommendation GFCM/41/2017/3
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/3 on a roadmap for the establishment of a fisheries restricted area in the southern Adriatic Sea (geographical subarea 18)
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/3 on the establishment of a fisheries restricted area in the Bari Canyon in the southern Adriatic Sea (geographical subarea 18)
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/20 on a multiannual management plan for the sustainable exploitation of small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea (geographical subareas 17 and 18)
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/4 on a management plan for the sustainable exploitation of blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea (geographical subareas 1 to 3), amending Recommendation GFCM/43/2019/2
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/5 on the establishment of a fisheries restricted area to protect spawning aggregations and deep-sea sensitive habitats in the Gulf of Lion (geographical subarea 7), repealing Recommendation GFCM/33/2009/1
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/11 on management measures for the use of anchored fish aggregating devices in common dolphinfish fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Recommendation GFCM/43/2019/1
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/6 on a multiannual management plan for sustainable trawl fisheries targeting giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp in the Levant Sea (geographical subareas 24 to 27), amending Recommendation GFCM/42/2018/3
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/7 on management measures for sustainable trawl fisheries targeting giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily (geographical subareas 12 to 16), amending Recommendation GFCM/43/2019/6
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/8 on a multiannual management plan for sustainable trawl fisheries targeting giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp in the Ionian Sea (geographical subareas 19 to 21), amending Recommendation GFCM/42/2018/4
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/9 on management measures for the sustainable exploitation of sprat in the Black Sea (geographical subarea 29)
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/10 on management measures for sustainable piked dogfish fisheries in the Black Sea (geographical subarea 29)
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/5 on the mitigation of fisheries impacts for the conservation of sturgeons in the Black Sea (geographical subarea 29)
  • Recommendation GFCM 44/2021/12 on a multiannual management plan for bottom trawl fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the Strait of Sicily (geographical subareas 12 to 16), amending Recommendation GFCM/42/2018/5
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/13 on the mitigation of fisheries impacts on seabirds in the Mediterranean Sea
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/14 on the mitigation of fisheries impacts for the conservation of sea turtles
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/15 on the mitigation of fisheries impacts for the conservation of cetaceans
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/16 on additional conservation and mitigation measures for the conservation of elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/4 on a pilot project for the control and inspection of common dolphinfish fisheries
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/17 on a catch certificate scheme for turbot in the Black Sea (geographical subarea 29)
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/6 on the application of an International Maritime Organization number, amending Resolution GFCM/41/2017/6
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/18 on the establishment of a GFCM record of authorized vessels over 15 metres in the GFCM area of application, amending Recommendation GFCM/33/2009/6
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/19 on the establishment of a list of vessels presumed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, repealing Recommendation GFCM/33/2009/8
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/7 on the implementation of a winch sensor system for demersal fisheries in the Adriatic Sea (geographical subareas 17 and 18)
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/8 on the implementation of a vessel monitoring system
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/9 on the implementation of an electronic logbook
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/14 on abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear
  • Recommendation GFCM/44/2021/21 on vessel sightings
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/10 on flag state performance
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/13 on appropriate measures to deter non-compliance
  • Resolution GFCM/44/2021/11 on the follow-up of the second GFCM performance review