PDF: English | French

ABSTRACT

The thirty-second session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) was attended by 23 Contracting Parties. The Commission reviewed the intersessional activities of its Scientific Advisory Committee, its Committee on Aquaculture and hold the second session of its Compliance Committee. The GFCM adopted a binding Recommendation on a Regional Scheme on Port States Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and endorsed an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Recommendation on a Fishing Period for the Swordfish Fisheries. It also adopted a Resolution on reporting on management measures. The GFCM agreed on a set of amendments to its Rules of Procedure and established three new Working Groups, on Recreational Fisheries, on Gear Selectivity and on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, especially vessel monitoring systems. It also decided to establish a Regional Record of Fishing Vessels. The GFCM formalized its cooperation with three partner organizations through memoranda of understanding. The Commission decided to use Arabic as working language for its plenary session and to undertake a performance review in 2009. The GFCM adopted its 2008 budget and programme of work. It acknowledged the importance of the network of cooperative regional research projects in support of the work of its committees and confirmed the extension of this network in the Black Sea. The Commission took note of progress made towards the move of its Secretariat to its new headquarters. The GFCM renewed the mandate of its Bureau for another term.