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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The tenth meeting of the Working Group of the Black Sea (WGBS) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) took place online from 22 to 25 July 2024. The meeting reviewed the work carried out during the 2023–2024 intersession in relation to stock assessment, management of selected fisheries, data collection, small-scale fisheries as well as work on the interactions between fisheries and the ecosystem, including all activities within the framework of the BlackSea4Fish project. The WGBS formulated advice on: i) data collection and quality indicators; ii) the status of Black Sea stocks; iii) the management of priority species and key fisheries, including technical elements for the management of rapa whelk fisheries; iv) vulnerable species; v) a revised Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (RPOA-SSF) monitoring framework; and vi) future functioning of the WGBS. Finally, the WGBS agreed upon its work plan for 2024–2026 in support of GFCM 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (GFCM 2030 Strategy) activities that would be coordinated, among others, through the BlackSea4Fish project. The WGBS proposed a new bureau for the consideration of the forty-seventh session of the GFCM.