The twenty-second session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) was held online from 22 to 25 June 2021. It was attended by delegates from 19 Mediterranean contracting parties, 11 observers from inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives of the FAO Fisheries Division, the GFCM Secretariat and invited experts. 

The mandate of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) is to provide scientific, social and economic advice relating to the work of the Commission, as well as support the implementation of multiannual management plans, taking into account a subregional approach. 

This year, it had the important task of addressing the particularly comprehensive and in-depth technical work carried out since the last session in 2019. A record number of twelve working documents, twenty-six informative documents and seventeen additional publications were put at disposal of the SAC to sustain the technical discussions.  

“The quality of the advice at subregional level has expanded considerably, thanks to the increased contributions from donors such as the European Union, as well as to the increasing presence of the GFCM at subregional level through the work of the Subregional Committees and our recently launched Subregional Technical Units”, said Abdellah Srour, GFCM Executive Secretary.  

Throughout the session, the committee discussed many issues including: 

• Implementation of research programmes; 
• Advances on recreational fisheries; 
• Application of data quality indicators on the DCRF online platform;
• The status of fisheries, including the status of stocks and vulnerable species;
• Management of Adriatic Sea, western, central and eastern Mediterranean fisheries;
• Protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems and essential fish habitats;
• Advances in the adaptation strategy for climate change. 

Among others, the SAC provided scientific advice on: 

• Updates to existing management plans, particularly for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea, blackspot seabream in the western Mediterranean and deep-water red shrimp fisheries in the eastern-central Mediterranean;  
• The potential establishment of three Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) in Spain, Italy and Israel, as well as the permanent closure in the Jabuka/Pomo Pit FRA in the Adriatic Sea and work towards a toolbox of minimum management standards applicable to all FRAs; 
• Improved stock assessment performance, including an enhanced benchmark process, endorsement of a specific framework for the organization of stock assessment results and of the implementation of management strategy evaluation for key fisheries; 
• Management actions for bottom-trawl fisheries, through spatio-temporal and selectivity measures, to reduce in particular the fishing mortality of European hake stocks, as well as through a large-scale multiannual pilot selectivity study; 
• A pilot study on the spawning season of round sardinella and identification of potential management measures in the eastern Mediterranean;
• Updates to existing research programmes on European eel and red coral, including common methodologies for the harmonized collection of red coral data;
• Launch of research programmes on common dolphinfish fisheries and blue crabs, as well as identification of new research programmes on non-indigenous species and deep-water red shrimp in the eastern-central Mediterranean;
• Proposed list of species to guide the collection and analysis of recreational fisheries data;
• Work towards potential measures to mitigate the impact of climate change and non-indigenous species;
• Data call to feed the GFCM database on sensitive benthic habitats and species;
• Role of the SAC subregional committees and GFCM subregional technical units, including updated terms of reference for the SRCs and proposed mandate of the GFCM programme/project on the provision of technical assistance in the Mediterranean (MedSea4Fish). 

The SAC also advanced on a revised framework for the provision of advice and finalized its workplan for 2021-2023. The advice formulated by the committee will be put to the forty-fourth session of the GFCM for adoption in November. 

This session was also the occasion to thank all the experts, research institutes and administrations in the region who provided impressive and invaluable support to ongoing activities – despite limitations faced and the need to work online – to ensure that advances continued to be made on research programmes, benchmark assessments and other activities contributing to the improved advice discussed during the SAC. 

The report of the SAC will be made available online in the coming months.