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ABSTRACT

The forty-eighth session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the fifteenth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance (CAF) were held in Malaga, Spain, from 4 to 9 November 2025, and attended by delegates from 22 contracting parties, 1 cooperating non-contracting party and 1 non-contracting party, as well as representatives from 15 observers, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the GFCM Secretariat. During the session, progress on work related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. In relation to the management of fisheries and compliance in the GFCM area of application, ten recommendations were adopted, dealing with: i) addressing implications of cases of force majeure in the fisheries restricted area in the Gulf of Lion; ii) the extension of the transitional period of the multiannual management plan for the sustainable exploitation of demersal stocks in the Strait of Sicily; iii) the extension of the transitional period of the multiannual management plans for the sustainable exploitation of giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp stocks in the Strait of Sicily, the Ionian Sea and the Levant Sea; iv) the implementation of a long-term fishing regime and the establishment of catch limits in 2026 for small pelagic stocks, as well as the implementation of a fishing effort regime for key demersal stocks in the Adriatic Sea; v) a long-term fishing regime for blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea, vi) the application of an International Maritime Organization number; vii) addressing compliance issues and corresponding actions. In addition, the Commission adopted two resolutions in relation to sustainable aquaculture development in the GFCM area of application, dealing with: i) guidelines on harmonized environmental monitoring programmes for marine cage aquaculture; ii) the implementation of allocated zones for restoration in aquaculture. In addition, the Commission discussed issues related to fisheries management and conservation advice at the regional and subregional levels, as well as advice on aquaculture development and compliance. With a view to consolidating its work in the Black Sea, the Commission established the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Black Sea as a new subsidiary body. The Commission also adopted its programme of work for the next intersession and approved its autonomous budget for 2026, amounting to USD 3 182 642, and tentative budgets for 2027 and 2028, amounting to USD 3 209 514 and USD 3 236 387 respectively. Finally, the Commission elected its new Bureau, and agreed to renew for a second two-year term the current Bureaus of the Compliance Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries.