2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). This significant milestone is celebrated by an updated, forward-looking visual identity to represent an organization with an important role to play in our collective future.  

The new logo and accompanying visual elements communicate the values enshrined in the GFCM’s mandate as a modern regional fisheries management organization. A group of interlocking symbols – including a cupped hand, three species of fish and a shark – represent the GFCM’s commitments to federating the efforts of member countries towards the conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources at the biological, social, economic and environmental levels and the sustainable development of aquaculture in the region. The five elements symbolize the five different subregions of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and the logo is rounded out by two distinct shades of blue that stand for the two separate basins. 

The GFCM has evolved from a tool for countries to discuss fishery-related issues to a modern and efficient Commission adopting binding recommendations for fisheries and aquaculture in the region. The GFCM’s 70-year anniversary offers an ideal occasion to reflect this progress through the modernization of its image. Under the guidance of the FAO Office of Corporate Communications, a participatory process involving all GFCM members gathered inputs and votes to select the new logo.    

The end result is a versatile logo easy to apply to various GFCM supports and materials, an accompanying set of design standards for documentation, publications and other outputs and a new visual identity that will stand the test of time, communicating across cultures and conveying not only the role of the GFCM but also its spirit. 

The new GFCM logo and visual identity guidelines are available for download here.