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GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN

Report of the Second Session of the
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Rome, Italy, 7-10 June 1999

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 1999

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

This is the final report approved by the participants of the second session of the General Fishery Commission for the Mediterranean Scientific Advisory Committee, held in Rome, Italy, from 7 to 10 June 1999. Distribution: Participants GFCM mailing list FAO Regional and Sub-Regional Fisheries Officers

FAO General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Report of the second session of the Scientific Advisory Committee. Rome, Italy, 7-10 June 1999. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 602. Rome, FAO. 1999. 62p. ABSTRACT The second session of the General Fishery Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) met in Rome, Italy, from 7 to 10 June 1999 and was attended by delegates from seventeen out of twenty-two Members of the Committee. The main issues discussed during the meeting were the identification of management units and fishing effort parameters. The terms of reference of the different Sub-Committees initiated by the First Scientific Advisory Committee were finalized. The Committee elected the Coordinators of the four Sub-Committees and discussed the conclusions of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment which was entrusted with the items 5, 6 and 7 of the SAC Agenda and reviewed the activities of COPEMED concerning artisanal fisheries.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OPENING OF THE SESSION

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SESSION

FURTHER PROGRESS ON ITEMS DISCUSSED AT THE FIRST SESSION

EVALUATION (JOINTLY WITH ICCAT) OF MEDITERRANEAN SWORDFISH RESOURCES

GENERAL APPRAISAL OF THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE STATE OF THE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STOCKS, ACCORDING TO THE MANAGEMENT UNITS IDENTIFIED

THE CONSERVATION OF JUVENILES AND SPAWNERS: PROS AND CONS OF MINIMUM MESH SIZES AND MINIMUM LANDING SIZES AS COMPARED TO CLOSED AREAS/SEASONS

IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS/SEASONS OF HIGH CONCENTRATION OF JUVENILES

ANY OTHER MATTERS

DATE AND PLACE OF THE THIRD SESSION

ADOPTION OF THE REPORT

Appendix A: Agenda

Appendix B: List of Participants

Appendix C: List of Documents

Appendix D: Proposal for a Partition of the GFCM Area into Fishery Management Units

Appendix E: Draft Document for Discussion on Fishing Effort Parameters

Appendix F: Terms of Reference for the Sub-Committee of the Scientific Advisory Committee

Appendix G: Research Suveys by Country - Inventory by GFCM/SAC

OPENING OF THE SESSION

1. The Second Session of the GFCM Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) was opened by the Chairman, Mr J. Caminas, who welcomed the participants before giving the floor to Mr Z. Karnicki, Director, Fishery Policy and Planning Division, who, on behalf of the Director General, Jacques Diouf, welcomed the participants to FAO Headquarters, emphasized the extensive agenda before the present Session of the Committee and wished success to the meeting.

2. The Session was attended by delegates from 17 members of the Commission and by observers from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The list of delegates and observers is given in Appendix B to this report.

3. Mr Matthew Camilleri (Malta) was elected Rapporteur of the Session. The Chairman requested delegations to provide the names of official delegates from Members of the Committee and observed that many Members were not represented. The Chairman urged the Members to designate their representatives to the Scientific Advisory Committee.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SESSION

4. The provisional Agenda was reviewed and it was decided to postpone the election of Coordinators of the Sub-Committees to the second day in order to give the opportunity for more delegations to arrive.

5. At the beginning of the sitting held on Tuesday, 8 June 1999 the following Coordinators of the Sub-Committees were elected:

Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment Mr J. Lleonart (Spain)

Sub-Committee on Fishery Statistics and Information Mr D. Levi (Italy)

Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences Mr S. Ben Salem (Tunisia)

Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems Mr G.P. Gabrielides (Cyprus)

6. The Chairman urged GFCM members to provide the Secretariat with the names of their experts to these Sub-Committees.

7. Several delegations emphasized the need for the Sub-Committees to provide purely scientific advice without any consideration for other aspects and it was underlined that the Members of the Sub-Committees should be the best specialists in their fields of competence.

8. The Committee considered that the Coordinators of the Sub-Committees should be responsible for contacting experts in member countries according to the agenda of each Session considering that the composition of the Sub-Committees should be flexible and could change from one Session to another.

9. It was also stated that the experts from member countries to the Sub-Committees should play the role of intermediary between the Coordinators of the Sub-Committees and the delegates of the countries.

10.The possibility of holding sessions of the Sub-Committees back-to-back with the Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee was accepted by the Committee. Priority was given to the holding of sessions of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment and the Sub-Committee on Fishery Statistics and Information.

11,It was suggested that, depending on the availability of funds, seminars could be organized on the different fields of activities of the Committee. These seminars would be attended by specialists who may be selected as members of the different Sub-Committees.

12.The Committee suggested that GFCM should allocate a budget which would encompass all the activities of the Sub-Committees.

13.The meeting reviewed the possibility of setting up an editing group to work on the documents presented to the Sub-Committees and which would subsequently serve as reference documents for scientists in the Mediterranean. The Committee decided to postpone the discussion of this issue to the end of the Session.

14.The Agenda adopted by the Session is attached as Appendix A. The documents before the Committee are listed in Appendix C.

FURTHER PROGRESS ON ITEMS DISCUSSED AT THE FIRST SESSION

15. The Secretary delivered a summary on the report of the First Scientific Advisory Committee meeting which was distributed to all delegates. He highlighted the two main subjects discussed during that meeting, i.e. the establishing of management units and the defining of fishing effort parameters. He stated that, with regard to the latter, SAC had agreed to consider also artisanal fisheries and had recommended that a national inventory of fishing vessels should be drawn up.

16. He also indicated that the report included a list of available data on stock assessment from various countries. In addition, he stated that an attempt to standardize the methodologies involved was seen to be essential. Furthermore, the Secretary said that the report described the setting-up of four Sub-Committees and listed their corresponding terms of reference. Finally, he reminded the Committee that SAC should submit a list of working priorities to the Commission as agreed at the last Session.

17. In the light of the report of the First Session, the Chairman of SAC then suggested that more detailed criteria needed to be laid down in connection with the management units identified at the First Session. The large number of management units was of particular concern but could not be avoided because of geographical diversity. The Chairman pointed out that the units could be classified into four groups: 1) those falling under national jurisdiction; 2) island units; 3) deep sea basins of the Mediterranean; and 4) units dealing with straddling stocks moving from the waters of one country to another.

18. Whilst it was reported that problems were encountered by the Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment when dealing with the identified management units, they could be maintained by simply acting as data submission areas. It was later suggested that a working group would be set up to analyse the suitability of these management units and lay down clear scientific criteria leading to their adoption.

19. There was still some doubt as to whether the management units identified at the First Session were related to resource stocks (see Appendix D). However, some members believed that these units should be taken as a point of departure and simply separate them into those falling under national jurisdiction and those which are shared by different countries.

20. The delegation of Turkey offered to host a meeting in 2000 where resources management issues in the Black Sea would be discussed.

21. The criteria defined in relation to fishing effort parameters were then addressed. With reference to Appendix E to the report of the First Session and also to this Session, it was agreed that a working programme to collect the required data would need to be drawn up. In addition, it was noted that the regional register needed to be defined further and timeframes for updating the register should be established. It was emphasized that artisanal fleets should be included in the register and that confirmation of the list of parameters to be included in the database was required.

22. The terms of reference of the different Sub-Committees were reviewed. A number of additions and amendments to these terms of reference were adopted by the Committee and these are reflected in Appendix F to this report.

23. While reviewing the terms of reference of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment, an emphasis on the assessment of shared stocks was requested by the Committee. It was also agreed that the Sub-Committee should propose the most appropriate assessment methods.

24. The Committee agreed that the Sub-Committee on Fishery Statistics and Information should be considered to have both a direct scientific input and act as a service to other Sub-Committees. An additional point regarding the type of data, type of errors involved in data collection and the level of details and desegragation of data was included in the terms of reference for this Sub-Committee. It was suggested that it should work in conjunction with established databases such as FIGIS.

25. With regard to the Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences, some debate arose on the term "legal research on fisheries". In this respect, this term was clarified accordingly to underpin the importance of research on the means used to regulate fisheries. Other minor amendments were made and the last three points in the previous list of the terms of reference for this Sub-Committee were completely deleted, since they were already addressed in the general terms of reference for all Sub-Committees.

26. Finally, when dealing with the terms of reference of the Sub-Committee for Marine Environment and Ecosystems, the Committee suggested that the assessment of the extent of the impact of fisheries on the marine ecosystem should be included as an additional point. It was agreed that this Sub-Committee should also propose recommendations to limit the negative effects of fisheries and other activities on the environment.

A. FIRST SESSION OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE FOR STOCK ASSESSMENT

EVALUATION (JOINTLY WITH ICCAT) OF MEDITERRANEAN SWORDFISH RESOURCES

27. The Chairman of SAC asked the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment (SCSA) to hold its first meeting during the present Session to review this item of the Agenda as well as items 5, 6 and 7, and to report to the Committee on the conclusions of its discussions. The Committee decided to refer items 4 to 7 of the agenda of SAC to the SCSA. Therefore, Mr J. Lleonart, Coordinator of SCSA, took over the chairmanship of the meeting for these items.

28. Mr P. Miyake, observer from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) presented document GFCM:SAC2/99/2 which summarized the swordfish-related part of the meeting of the ad hoc GFCM/ICCAT Working Group on Large Pelagic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea, held in Genoa, Italy, from 7 to 12 September 1998.

29. At the 1998 Genoa meeting, historical catch and landing records of swordfish were revised significantly upward. Catch rapidly increased in the early 1980s (partially due to the upgrading of data collection systems), peaked in 1987 at about 20,000 t, came down, and stabilized at about 15,000 t per year. At the same meeting, the biological origin of newly reported catches of swordfish in the region of Gibraltar in the 1990s was questioned.

30. The Mediterranean catches of swordfish originated mostly from age-classes of two to three year old juveniles with about 65 % of the caught fish smaller than 120 cm. The analysis carried out in 1995 suggested that the increase of age of first catch would result in a significant increase (about 15 % to 25 % depending on fishing mortality) in the yield-per-recruit.

31. The GFCM/ICCAT Working Group expressed concern on the very high catches of juveniles, the scarcity of large fish in the Mediterranean catches and the age of first maturity possibly reduced due to heavy fishing. Taking into account the precautionary approach, the Genoa meeting strongly recommended the reduction of fishing pressure particularly on juvenile swordfish to ensure the well-being of the stock. At present, ICCAT did not have any management measures adopted, but EC and individual countries have such measures adopted and implemented to a varying degree (see document GFCM:SAC2/99/2).

32. Recognizing difficulties with imposing size limits, the possibility of area and seasonal closures was discussed.

33. The Sub-Committee noted that the latest extensive stock assessments were made only at the Working Group meeting of 1995 in Bari, Italy, and recommended that SAC should consider an update of the analyses in 2000, particularly longer time series of data now being available. However, such a survey could be successful only if adequate data could be provided to the Working Group's Technical Secretary, Mr. P. Miyake, ICCAT Secretariat, two months in advance of the proposed meeting of the GFCM/ICCAT Working Group.

The following data were identified as essential for future analyses:

a) total catches by gear, country and year;

b) catch and efforts by gear, country, year, region and month; and

c) catch at size by gear, country, year, region and quarter.

Particularly for the major longline fisheries of Algeria, Cyprus, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Spain; and the longline and gillnet fisheries of Italy.

GENERAL APPRAISAL OF THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE STATE OF THE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STOCKS, ACCORDING TO THE MANAGEMENT UNITS IDENTIFIED

34. The Secretariat presented the draft chapter for the Mediterranean from the forthcoming Fisheries Department publication on the State of World Marine Fishery Resources. This noted the apparent increase in productivity of the Mediterranean suggested by marked increases in fishery landings over the last few decades, but also provided a review of existing assessments suggesting that for the demersals and large pelagics, a state of full to overexploitation seems to apply, with somewhat lower rates of exploitation for most small pelagic fish.

35. The full exploitation leading to increased landings seems consistent with an increase in underlying productivity due to land run-off effects to a formerly oligotrophic sea where production per shelf area is now approaching levels similar to Atlantic waters. Such a situation seems to merit further research, but does not reduce the urgent necessity for action to maintain fishing intensity in check, or even reduce it in some areas and some resources. Some key resources were pointed to as depleted such as Black Sea sturgeon, shad and demersal resources as a result of environmental effects and overfishing. In the Mediterranean proper, red pandora, grouper, red coral, sponges and in some areas spiny lobster were pointed to as depleted resources. Most commercially important demersal fish were fully to overfished in many areas, and short-lived invertebrate species make up a significant proportion of the catch. Overexploitation appears also to be the situation for swordfish and bluefin tuna. The report also expressed the urgency to keep under control the fishery for resources of continental slope areas where deep red shrimp are at least fully exploited in the northern Mediterranean.

36. The presentation was followed by a discussion that underlined the often-noted discrepancy between the official statistics sent to FAO by certain member countries and those reported by scientists. Such discrepancies, as well as a lack of data from some countries, could affect the results and conclusions based on reported landings.

37. Although an apparent increase in Mediterranean fishery landings is reported in FAO documentation, the Sub-Committee believed that detailed analysis of possible changes in productivity by sub-regions and by species needs to be confirmed by in-depth analysis.

38. The Sub-Committee suggested that one approach would be to compare the results of landing trends with biomass evaluations, using direct methods (surveys).

39. Some delegates proposed the setting-up of two working groups to look at the demersal and pelagic stocks situation resulting both from direct and indirect evaluation methods.

40. The Sub-Committee recalled the multi-species nature of the Mediterranean fisheries, and hence the danger of applying exclusively single-species assessments for fishery management.

41. The Sub-Committee noted the existence of stocks shared by two or more countries and recommended that some priority be given to the study of shared stocks. The issue of the management units as identified by the First Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee was reviewed by the Sub-Committee which recommended to postpone further discussion of these units and to maintain the sub-regions as defined by the First Session of SAC.

National reports on the level of knowledge of the state of the different groups of stocks

42. A general discussion took place whereby it was concluded that the national reports (that could be renamed in the future "reports of national scientific activities" of each country) should be presented to SAC.

43. The Coordinator of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment invited the delegates to present regularly their national reports on national scientific activities relevant to the state of fisheries and fishery research in their respective countries.

44. The national reports, as well as the document of ICCAT on bluefin tuna, which have been submitted, will be published in their original languages as a supplement to this report. Delegations were urged to provide the Secretariat with these reports in final form as soon as possible.

45. A working document was presented on the relationship between fishing mortality of hake and the fishing effort in the trawl fishery, south of Majorca. The document showed the need to use very disaggregated data in order to ascertain which units could determine the effective fishing effort.

THE CONSERVATION OF JUVENILES AND SPAWNERS: PROS AND CONS OF MINIMUM MESH SIZES AND MINIMUM LANDING SIZES AS COMPARED TO CLOSED AREAS/SEASONS

46. This agenda item was introduced by the Technical Secretariat on the basis of document GFCM:SAC2/99/Inf.4. He set out the key options for conserving juveniles, but explained that a decision should be taken as to whether the main priority is to protect juveniles or the spawning stocks. He added that the level of escapement of juveniles to the spawning stock, as well as the vulnerability of the spawning stocks to fishing, and actual and minimum spawning biomasses, must be evaluated. He noted that if the stocks concerned are fully or overfished, clearly the number of recruits will be more or less proportional to the spawning stock biomass, whatever the stock-recruit model used. He concluded his presentation by questioning whether maximizing the yield, stabilizing the yield, or maximizing the total value of catches should be considered as the key issue in the Mediterranean. A discussion on this issue was referred to the Commission as the most appropriate forum for such basic policy issues.

47. Some delegations noted that in many cases, the implementation of one or more of the measures proposed in document GFCM:SAC2/99/Inf.4 for protection of juveniles might represent major practical difficulties. The Committee agreed that ideally, more than one protection measure for juveniles should be adopted, and, where possible, selective harvesting should be introduced. Some delegates suggested that the protection of the spawners for some stocks will have to be tackled through collaboration by different countries. While it was noted that it was not possible to stop fishing on both juvenile and adult populations, the main conclusion on protection of spawners is that care should be taken before starting new fisheries that might impact spawners producing recruits for shelf fisheries. Another delegation pointed to the fact that the impact of juveniles fisheries requires more information on the natural mortality and fishing mortality, which is yet to be achieved.

48. The impact of trawling on the benthic environment which determined the welfare of juveniles was also highlighted.

49. Finally, it was suggested that, where incomplete data to support a full stock assessment are not available, the formulation of appropriate management measures will have to take into account the precautionary approach.

IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS/SEASONS OF HIGH CONCENTRATION OF JUVENILES

50. A working paper on the distribution and abundance of anchovy and sardine eggs and larvae in the Alboran Sea, as observed from egg surveys in the period 1982 to 1994 was presented. Whilst sardine eggs were relatively dispersed along the area of the study, anchovy eggs were concentrated in certain specific areas. Juveniles of both species were found mostly in the vicinity of the bays of Malaga and Almenia.

51. A working document describing the distribution and abundance of juveniles of various species of fish in the Gulf of Lions was reviewed. Generally speaking, all species were concentrated in the near coastal zone. Only juvenile stage hake were found in its in deep waters up to 150m.

52. The Secretariat pointed out that juveniles needed to be sampled, at short intervals in the first stages of the life cycle in order to determine realistic growth and mortality schedules, rather than just using traditional annual otolith back calculations for this purpose. These growth curves, together with an estimation of natural mortality, were needed for calculations on yield and the effects of selectivity on young fish.

53. A paper on bluefin tuna spawning and nursery areas was presented. The Atlantic eastern stock bluefin tuna spawn mostly in the Western Mediterranean and larvae were found throughout the Mediterranean (more concentrated in the western part).

54. Finally, the delegation of Greece presented the results obtained from the MEDITS trawl survey in their waters. This provides a solid basis for future assessments, and these will hopefully be presented to future meetings of SAC.

55. The Coordinator of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment urged the members to remain in continual contact via E-mail and suggested that they meet a few days before the next Session of SAC.

56. The Coordinator suggested that two working groups should be set up, one on small pelagics and the other on demersals. It was agreed that the work carried out by this Sub-Committee would be linked to environmental aspects and that work on shared stocks would be given priority.

57. The Coordinator invited the meeting to take note of a document prepared by the delegation of France and which may be of some use as a model for future regional stock assessments.

58. It was suggested that the next Session of the Committee should include an item on the analysis of the effects on the populations and on fisheries resulting from the implementation of the GFCM Resolution on large pelagic species.

59. The observer from ICCAT reviewed its regulatory measures relating to the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery, most of which have already been adopted by GFCM. However, the recent measures recommended by ICCAT on time-area closures of the Mediterranean bluefin purse seine fisheries and bluefin tuna minimum size regulation of 3.2kg were still to be considered by GFCM. The Scientific Advisory Committee considered it important to review these regulations on a scientific basis, and at the same time, that the Joint GFCM/ICCAT Working Group should be responsible for scientific advice to both Commissions, so that inconsistency and duplication of effort may be avoided. As recent ICCAT measures were based on advice from the Joint Working Group, the Committee recommended that the Commission take due note of the ICCAT regulatory measures. The Scientific Advisory Committee resumed its session at this stage of the discussions by reviewing COPEMED activities.

B. COPEMED ACTIVITIES IN ARTISANAL FISHERIES

60. The activity dealing with the assessment of artisanal fisheries in the region being undertaken by the project was presented. The development of a database (GIS) and other information on artisanal fishery development in the west Mediterranean developed under COPEMED was demonstrated. The need to extend such a geographically referenced database for the eastern Mediterranean was stressed by SAC, and a search for funding should be initiated.

61. The Coordinator of COPEMED presented a summary of the mid-term report of his project. A list of the proposed activities of the project's Steering Committee meeting (Alicante, Spain, in May 1999), and attended by a certain number of Directors-Generals of COPEMED member countries, were reviewed. They were summarized as follows:

• in depth definition of fishery management units;

• collect standardised basic data on catch and effort (for transboundary resources such as bluefin and swordfish in particular);

• continue the artisanal fisheries analysis;

• assist in definition of socio-economic indicators for fisheries purposes;

• collect and analyse relevant long term data series; and

• promote the study of the relationship between small pelagic stocks and environmental fluctuations.

62. The project Director indicated the availability of COPEMED to consider specific requests from SAC on priority activities which fall within the mandate of COPEMED for the Western Mediterranean. It was also clarified that representatives of non-COPEMED countries would normally be welcome to attend COPEMED meetings, at their own expense.

63. The Secretariat outlined a proposal for developing, through pilot-scale studies, a social and economic database which could be of great assistance to the Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences. The decision was that this issue would be placed on the agenda of the first meeting of this Sub-Committee which, it was stressed, should be organized as soon as possible.

64. The possible COPEMED activity falling under the mandate of FIPP on the feasibility study towards establishing a sub-regional database on socio-economic indicators for fisheries management was described. It was recalled that this activity was a follow-up to a major recommendation of the last Session of the former GFCM Working Party on Fisheries Economics and Statistics (Rome, March 1998). Emphasis was also put on the complementarity of this undertaking with other ongoing COPEMED activities, namely the inventory of industrial vessels and the inventory of artisanal fisheries communities.

65. The Committee welcomed the offer made by COPEMED to finance the Working Group on Socio-economic Indicators. COPEMED was requested to make all possible efforts to invite other members of the Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences to the first meeting of the Working Group on Socio-economic Indicators in order that a draft programme of work for the Sub-Committee could be commenced.

ANY OTHER MATTERS

The Eastern Mediterranean

66. A proposal from Israel to focus the attention of SAC on the poorly understood fisheries and ecosystems of the eastern Mediterranean was accepted to be a worthwhile and even necessary priority. Certain practical problems have been raised in the past however, as demonstrated by poor attendance at former GFCM Eastern Mediterranean Consultations on Stock Assessment, which are unlikely to have greatly changed at the present time. While the proposal to hold such groups largely through exchange of electronic communications, as is being attempted under COPEMED, was not excluded as a feasible option, two other options were considered by SAC to present alternatives which do not however exclude the original proposal. These are:

• to look for funding to support a comparable initiative to COPEMED and ADRIAMED in the eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas;

• to investigate further the possible funding of a project for the eastern Mediterranean, complementary to other sub-regional projects in the Mediterranean. In the interim, the preparation of a report which addresses those issues raised in the Israeli proposal, namely a summary of the state of resources, and proposals for management methods adapted to the sub-region is suggested as a first step in the process of initiating continuing activities in the eastern Mediterranean.

Format of the reports submitted to SAC and its Sub-Committees

67. The suggestion was made at the First Session of SAC to develop an editorial group to review documents presented at SAC and SAC Sub-Committees, and ensure that appropriate standards and criteria for such documents be distributed by the Secretariat.

68. In this connection, given that FAO rules do not permit extensive photocopying of large documents, and given the costs of translation, technical editing and printing, a rough guideline was proposed which could be modified slightly at the discretion of the Secretary. The documents should be presented in as short a form as possible (10 pages maximum, camera-ready, single-spaced, including figures, tables and references). The document should also be on disk, and an abstract or executive summary in two official languages should be included, and the document presented in a standard format (preferably Word) with original figures in black ink that would photocopy adequately. In this way the documents could be readily distributed to referees or editors, or placed on electronic networks such as that of COPEMED.

69. Authors should endeavour to be succinct in presenting methods, results and conclusions, and refer interested parties to where the original data could be obtained, which should only be presented in summary form or graphically.

70. The intention is that a supplement of �National reports and communications� be prepared in adjunct to the report of the meeting as a permanent record, and produced in adequate numbers of copies, and perhaps in the future, also on CD-ROM.

Conclusions of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment

71. The Coordinator of the Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment presented the conclusions of the meeting of the Sub-Committee in the form of programme of activities for the future. This programme is summarized as follows:

• Compile exhaustive E-mail list of all scientists interested in stock assessment;

• Complete the assessment table and bibliography by species and management area;

• Establish three working groups covering the three types of stocks:

  • large pelagics (with ICCAT)

  • small pelagics

  • demersals including invertebrate stocks

• Maintain the present GFCM/ICCAT Working Group on Large Pelagic Species. The other two groups would deal with:

• methodological analysis and special emphasis on the comparison of direct and indirect methods;

• select and prioritize species with particular attention to shared stocks;

• analyse the "juvenile" problem;

• emphasize the ecological approach (interaction with the Sub-Committee for Marine Environment and Ecosystems);

• analyse the scientific basis for current regulations; and

• produce stock assessments.

• Develop standard forms and procedures to present data and results;

• Analyse and develop possible management reference points;

• Study the scientific basis for the national and international regulations in fisheries;

• Compile the results of surveys carried out in the Mediterranean and listed in Appendix G to this report.

72. The Scientific Advisory Committee agreed on the programme proposed and decided to submit it to the Commission for approval.

DATE AND PLACE OF THE THIRD SESSION

73. The Committee recommended holding its Third Session at FAO Headquarters, Rome, in May 2000. The exact date will be decided by the Director-General of FAO in consultation with the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee. The Sub-Committees should meet back-to-back with the Third Session of SAC.

ADOPTION OF THE REPORT

74. The report was adopted on Thursday, 10 June 1999.

Appendix A

AGENDA

1. Opening of the Session

2. Adoption of the Agenda and arrangements for the Session

3. Further progress on items discussed at the First Session

4. Evaluation (jointly with ICCAT) of Mediterranean swordfish resources

5. General appraisal of the level of knowledge on the state of the different groups of stocks, according to the management units identified

6. The conservation of juveniles and spawners: pros and cons of minimum mesh sizes and minimum landing sizes as compared to closed areas/seasons

7. Identification of areas/seasons of high concentration of juveniles

8. Any other matters

9. Date and place of the Third Session

10. Adoption of the Report

Appendix B

LIST OF PARTICPANTS

MEMBERS OF GFCM

ALBANIA

ALGERIA

Arezki LOUNICI
Représentant permanent suppléant
Ambassade de la République algérienne
démocratique et populaire
Via B. Oriani, 26
00197 Rome, Italie
Tél: (+39 06) 8084141/80687620
Fax: (+39 06) 8083436

Tayeb AYACHE
Directeur
Ministère de l'agriculture et de la pêche
12 Boulevard Amirouche
Alger
Tel: (213 2) 71 27 89
Fax: (213 2) 71 27 89

Aissa CHERIF
Sous Directeur
Ministère de l'agriculture et de la pêche
12 Boulevard Amirouche
Alger
Tel: (213 2) 71 27 89
Fax: (213 2) 71 27 89

BULGARIA

CROATIA

Branimik ČEČUK
First Secretary
Embassy of the Republic of Croatia
Via Luigi Bodio 74-76
00191 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 36307650/36307300
Fax: (+39 06) 36303405

CYPRUS

Andreas ROUSHIAS
Alternate Permanent Representative
Permanent Representation of the
Republic of Cyprus to FAO
Piazza Farnese 44
00186 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 6865758/6865263
Fax: (+39 06) 68803756
E-mail:[email protected]

EGYPT

Mohamed KHALIFA
Agricultural Counsellor
Deputy Permanent Representative
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Via Salaria, 267
Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 854 89 56
Fax: (+39 06) 854 26 03

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY � MEMBER ORGANIZATION

Armando ASTUDILLO
Directorate General for Fisheries
DG XIV/C1
200 Rue de la Loi
1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: (+32 2) 296 11 91
Fax: (+32 2) 295 56 21
E-mail:[email protected]

Frances-Anne HUNTER (Ms)
Attaché
Délégation de la Commission
des Communautés européennes
auprès de la FAO
Via IV Novembre 149
00187 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 6782672/6793755
Fax: (+39 06) 6797830
E-mail:[email protected]

FRANCE

Henri FARRUGIO
Chef de laboratoire
IFREMER
1 Rue Jean Vilar
34200 Sète
Tel: (+33 67) 46 78 18
Fax: (+33 67) 70 40 90
E-mail:[email protected]

GREECE

C. PAPACONSTANTINOU
Director
Institute of Marine Biological
Resources/NCMR
Agios Kosmas, GR-166 04
Hellenikon, Athens
Tel: (+30 1) 98 21 354
Fax: (+30 1) 98 11 713/98 33 095
E-mail: [email protected]

Constantina KARLOU-RIGA
Fisheries Biologist
Head of Fishery Laboratory
Ministry of Agriculture
Karaoli and Demetrion 15
L85 31 Piraeus
E-Mail:[email protected]

George TSERPES
Expert
Institute of Marine Biology of Greece
IMBC
PO Box 2214
71003 Iraklion

Argyris KALLIANIOTIS
Fisheries Biologist
NAGREF
Fisheries Research Institute
64007 Nea Peramos
E-mail:[email protected]

ISRAEL

S. PISANTY
Director Fisheries Division
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development
Kishon Fishing Harbour Haifa
PO Box 1213, K. Haiim 2606
Tel: (+972 4) 84 18 853
Fax: (+972 4) 841 88 54
E-mail:[email protected]

ITALY

Giovanni DELLA SETA
Direzione Generale della Pesca
Ministero per la Politiche Agricole
Viale dell' Arte 16
00144 Roma
Tel: (+39 06) 59084746
Fax: (+39 06) 59084176
E-mail: [email protected]

C. PICCINETTI
Laboratorio di Biologia Marina Pesca
Viale Adriatico 1/N
61032 Fano
Tel: (+39 721) 802689
Fax: (+39 721) 801654
E-mail:[email protected]

Rosanna FRONZUTO (Ms)
Direzione Generale della Pesca
e dell'Acquacoltura
Ministero per le Politiche Agricole
Viale dell' Arte 16
00144 Roma

JAPAN

Yukio TAKEUCHI
National Research Institute of
Far Seas Fisheries
Fishery Agency
5-7-1, Orido, Shimizu
Shizuoka 424-8633
Tel: (+81) 543 366 039
Fax: (+81) 543 359 642
E-mail: [email protected]

LEBANON

LIBYA

MALTA

Francis MONTANARO MIFSUD
Ambassador to FAO
Permanent Representation of the
Republic of Malta to FAO
Lungotevere Marzio 12
00186 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 6879990/6879947
Fax: (+39 06) 6892687

Matthew CAMILLERI
Fisheries Biologist
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Barriera Wharf, Valletta
Tel: (+356) 650 934
Fax: (+356) 650 932
E-mail: [email protected]

MONACO

Sylvie TAMBUTTÉ (Ms)
Administrateur
Division patrimoine et milieux
Direction de l'environnement, de
l'urbanisme et de la construction
BP 609
23 Avenue Prince Héréditaire Albert
98013 Monaco
Tel: (+377) 93152299
Fax: (+377) 93158802

MOROCCO

Abdellatif BERRAHO
Secrétaire général
Institut national de recherche halieutique
2, rue de Tiznit
Casablanca
Tel: (+212 2) 222 090
Fax: (+212 2) 266 967
E-mail:[email protected]

Abdellah SROUR
Chef du Centre Régional
de l'INRH en Méditerranée
Institut national de recherche halieutique
B.P. 493
Nador
Tel: (+212 6) 60 40 20
Fax: (+212 6) 60 38 28
E-Mail:[email protected]

Abdelaziz ZOUBI
Biologiste des pêches chargé de l' évaluation
des stocks en Méditerranée
Institut national de recherche halieutique
2, rue de Tiznit
Casablanca
Tel: (+212 2)22 20 90
Fax: (+212 2)26 69 67
E-Mail: [email protected]

ROMANIA

SPAIN

Juan A. CAMIÑAS
Director
Centro Oceanografíco de Málaga
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca
y Alimentación
Apto. 285, 29640 Fuengirola
Tel: (+34 95) 247 81 48
Fax: (+34 952) 246 38 08
E-mail:[email protected]

Pilar PEREDA (Ms)
Coordinadora Pesquerías
Instituto Español de Oceanografía
Corazón de María 8
28002 Madrid
Tel: (+34) 91 347 37 31
Fax: (+34) 91 41 13 55 97
E-mail: [email protected]

Jordi LLEONART
ICM-CSIC
P. Joan de Borbó S/N
08039 Barcelona
E-mail: [email protected]

Isabel PALOMERA (Ms)
Researcher
ICM-CSIC
P. Joan de Borbó S/N
08039 Barcelona
Tel: (+34) 93 221 64 16
Fax: (+34) 93 221 73 40
E-mail: [email protected]

Ramon FRANQUESA
Researcher
GEM/Universitat Barcelona
Gran de Gracia, 229
08012 Barcelona
Tel/Fax: (+34) 93 217 87 34
E-mail:[email protected]

Jorge BARO
Instituto Español de Oceanografía
Muelle Pesqueros S/N
29640 Fuengirola (Malaga)

Federico ALVAREZ
Director
Centro Oceanográfico Baleares
Muelle Pomiente s/n
07080 Palma
Tel: (+34) 97 14 015 61
Fax: (+34) 97 14 049 45
E-mail:[email protected]

SYRIA

Yahya DIAB
Embassy of Syrian Arab Republic
Piazza D'Aracoeli, 1
00186 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 6797791/2/3
Fax: (+39 06) 6794989

TUNISIA

Mahjoub LAMTI
Représentant permanent adjoint
Ambassade de la République tunisienne
Via Asmara 7
00199 Rome, Italie
Tel: (+39 06) 8601700/8603060
Fax: (+39 06) 86214840/86218204

Mohamed HMANI
Sous-directeur
Ministère de l�Agriculture
Direction générale de la pêche
et de l'aquaculture
32 Rue Alain Savary
Tunis
Tel: (+216 1) 89 07 84

Othman JARBOUI
Maitre de recherche agricole à l'INSTM
BP 1035
3018 Sfax
Tel: (+216 4) 220 117
Fax: (+216 4) 229 897
E-mail:[email protected]

Abdallah HATTOUR
Attaché en recherche
INSTM
28, rue 2 Mars 1934
2025 Salammbó
Tel: (+216 1)73 04 20
Fax: (+216 1)732 622
E-mail:[email protected]

TURKEY

Atilla OZDEMIR
Research Officer
Bodrum Fisheries and Aquaculture
Research Institute
Su Urunleri Aras. Enst.Pasatarlasi Cad, 1
48400 Bodrum
Tel: (+90 252) 31 62 491
Tel: (+90 252) 31 62 492
E-mail:[email protected]

Mustafa ZENGIN
Research Officer
Fisheries Research Institute
Trabzon
Tel: (+90 462) 341 10 53
Fax: (+90 462) 341 10 56

E. Mümtaz TIRASIN
Researcher
Dokuzeylul University
Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology
Baku Bulvari No. 10, Incirlti
35340 Izmir
Tel: (+90 232)278 55 65
E-mail:[email protected]

YUGOSLAVIA

OBSERVERS FROM INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS (ICCAT)

Peter M. MIYAKE
Assistant Executive Secretary, (ICCAT)
C. Corrazon de María 8
28002 Madrid
Tel: (+34 91) 4165600
Fax: (+34 91) 4152612
E-mail:[email protected]

OBSERVERS FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF)

Enrico LEONARDI
Marine Officer
WWF Mediterranean Programme
Via Gargliano 57
00198 Rome, Italy
Tel: (+39 06) 844 97 358
Fax: (+39 06) 841 38 66

FAO

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Fisheries Department

Z. KARNICKI
Director
Fishery Policy and Planning Division
Tel: (+39 06) 57054138
Fax: (+39 06) 57053020
E-mail:[email protected]

COPEMED Project

R. ROBLES
Directeur
Edificío Germán Bernacér
Universidad de Alicante, Apartado 99
03080 Alicante, España
Tel: (+34 6) 5909313
Fax: (+34 6) 5909318
E-mail: [email protected]

GFCM Secretariat

H. BEN ALAYA
GFCM Secretary
Senior Fishery Liaison Officer
International Institutions and Liaison
Service
Tel: (+39 06) 57056435
Fax: (+39 06) 57056500
E-mail:[email protected]

J.F. CADDY
Technical Secretary
Fishery Resources Division
Tel: (+39 06) 57056097
Fax: (+39 06) 57053020
E-mail:[email protected]

M. PEDINI
Technical Secretary
Fishery Resources Division
Tel: (+39 06) 57056279
Fax: (+39 06) 57053020
E-mail:[email protected]

A. BONZON
Fishery Planning Officer
Fishery Policy and Planning Division
Tel: (+39 06) 57056441
Fax: (+39 06) 57056500
E-mail:[email protected]

S. COPPOLA
Fishery Resources Officer
Fishery Resources Division
Tel: (+39 06) 57056279
Fax: (+39 06) 57053020
E-mail:[email protected]

J. WEBB
Meetings Officer
International Institutions and Liaison Service
Tel: (+39 06) 57056721
Fax: (+39 06) 57056500
E-mail:[email protected]

M. GUYONNET
Secretary
International Institutions and Liaison Service
Tel: (+39 06) 57053951
Fax: (+39 06) 57056500
E-mail:[email protected]

Appendix C

LIST OF DOCUMENTS

GFCM:SAC/99/1	Agenda
GFCM:SAC/99/2	Evaluation of the Mediterranean Swordfish
GFCM:SAC/99/3	Review of the recommendations of the First Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee
GFCM:SAC/99/Inf.1	List of Documents
GFCM:SAC/99/Inf.2	List of Participants
GFCM:SAC/99/Inf.3	Report of the First Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee (Rome, Italy, 23-26 March 1999)
GFCM:SAC/99/Inf.4	The problem of conservation of juveniles: some perspectives arising from the specific characteristics of Mediterranean fisheries

Appendix D

DRAFT DOCUMENT FOR DISCUSSION
ON A PARTITION OF THE GFCM AREA INTO FISHERY MANAGEMENT UNITS

Report of the Working Group on Management Units

I. Introductory notes

The partition shown below responds to a request made by GFCM at its Twenty-third Session. The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) interpretation of the request is that there is a need to define areas for which:

• Management action can (but does not necessarily have to) be distinct;
• Scientific information on stock status is available, or can be made available by SAC in future meetings;
• SAC would ideally be in a position to give management advice.

This implies that a compromise must be found between management constraints and biological and bio-geographical considerations. Obviously, the partition proposed below is to a great extent arbitrary. It will constitute a working exercise, and therefore may be subject to future revisions.

II. Criteria used

In addition to the criteria indicated by the Commission in its mandate, special consideration is given to some guidelines that emerged from discussion of document GFCM :SAC/99/inf 5. These are given below:

1. National management units for coastal resources established within limits of national jurisdiction were not considered in this proposal;

2. Keep as far as possible the existing GFCM statistical divisions;

3. Consider that in narrow shelves, where these fall within the limits of national jurisdiction, management of demersal and small pelagic resources is a national responsibility;

4. Most islands may constitute distinct management units for demersal and small pelagic resources;

5. Try to match distribution patterns, especially for small pelagics, with oceanographic features (example of the Alboran Sea);

6. Take large shelves as management units for demersal and possibly also small pelagics.

III. Management units

• For bluefin tuna, the actual management unit (stock) extends beyond the Mediterranean, but particular management measures can be set for the Mediterranean or a part of it. With that in mind, it is considered that the whole area 37 as a single management area. The same area should be applicable to other large migratory fish (dolphinfish, billfishes, etc).
• For swordfish, ICCAT and the GFCM/ICCAT working group have been working on the hypothesis of a single stock in the entire Mediterranean. Some suggestions were made that there could be two distinct stocks, occupying areas: 37.1 and 37.2+37.3. The single stock hypothesis has to be further studied in this respect, as well as the eventual relation between the Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks.
• For non-demersal deepwater resources (bathypelagic fish and squids): the three main basins: 37.1, 37.2 and 37.3 were discussed as possible management areas. Precise definition of the relatively new fisheries in the areas (target species, depth limits, geographical distribution) should be given further consideration by SAC, ideally under the framework of an ad hoc group of experts.
• For demersal and small pelagics, the provisional management units are given below. It should be noted that some areas will require more precise definitions (e.g., what are the precise eastern limits of the Alboran Sea) that may be tackled in the near future on an ad hoc basis. Moreover, it should be also noted that the areas below do not prejudge the area of application of national jurisdiction (e.g. "waters around Corsica" means the area around the island which contains most of the resources, regardless of the distance from the base lines).

Western basin:

a) 37.1.1 waters surrounding the Balearic Islands

b) 37.1.1 waters off the Spanish continental coast, excluding Alboran Sea

c) 37.1.1 waters off Algeria, excluding Alboran Sea

d) 37.1.1 Alboran Sea

e) 37.1.2 Gulf of Lions

f) 37.1.2 waters off Côte d�Azur

g) 37.1.3 waters surrounding Corsica

h) 37.1.3 waters surrounding Sardinia

i) 37.1.3 waters off Northern Sicily

j) 37.1.3 waters off the Italian continental coast, down to Strait of Messina

k) 37.1.3 waters off Northern Tunisia

Central basin:

a) 37.2.1 northern and central Adriatic Sea

b) 37.2.2 southern Adriatic Sea, down to the Strait of Otranto

c) 37.2.2 waters off the southeast Italian continental coast

d) 37.2.2 waters off the western Greek continental coast

e) 37.2.2 waters off southern and eastern Sicily and Malta

f) 37.2.2 Gulf of Gabes and Gulf of Hammamed

g) 37.2.2 waters off Lybia, excluding the Gulf of Gabes

Eastern basin:

a) 37.3.1 Aegean Sea

b) 37.3.1 waters surrounding Crete

c) 37.3.2 waters surrounding Cyprus

d) 37.3.2 waters off the Southern Turkish coast

e) 37.3.2 Southeast Levant

f) 37.3.2 waters off Egypt

Marmara Sea and Black Sea:

a) 37.4.1 Marmara Sea

b) 37.4.2 Black Sea

c) 37.4.3 Azov Sea

It is understood that not all stock limits will be compatible with the zones defined above, and issues of shared and straddling stocks may apply. These may lead to changes in the above scheme as new information accumulates, or issues of shared and straddling stocks may have to be dealt with on a bilateral or multilateral basis.

Appendix E

DRAFT DOCUMENT FOR DISCUSSION
ON FISHING EFFORT PARAMETERS

Report of the Working Group on Capacity and Fishing Effort Parameters

I. Introductory notes

The Working Group was of the opinion that information on fleet capacity and distribution should be available to serve as the basis for defining fishing effort parameters. Therefore, the Working Group avoided entering directly into the definition of the data structure and segmentation of the fishing effort parameters to be collected, without first having analysed the reasons why it had not been possible to collect reliable information on fleet capacity although this information, in many cases, was already available at national level. The Working Group reviewed the fleet database created by GFCM and the FAO COPEMED Project. It was recognized that the base is not yet totally useful for evaluating fishing capacity as it is fairly incomplete and concentrates on vessels above 15 meters LOA. In addition, the data basis was not specifically related to identifying fishing effort per se.

II. Criteria discussed

The following points were addressed and recommendations formulated:

• The Working Group stressed the opportunity provided by the nature and structure of the SAC to ensure steady intersessional activity: the information would be collected regularly and computerised, and not sporadically as in the past; surveys could be planned and executed targeting specific issues, within an established programme of work;
• The fishing effort parameters should be defined, in relation to the management units concerned. Data should be collected on a sample basis and related to the Regional Register of fishing vessels;
• In spite of the difficulties encountered, the Regional Register should be properly established and maintained, with the objective of being used to estimate both fishing capacity and provide inputs on fishing efforts. It would also provide a frame for all other surveys to be undertaken in the region such as GIS and socio-economic data, and others; indeed, the Working Group noted that, due to the dynamic nature of fishing effort data, the objective was to develop a regularly updated fishing effort database. This could be related to a fishing vessel register primarily concerned with measuring fishing capacity in each statistical area;
• The core Regional database should contain the minimum common elements, but be consistent and coherent;
• An effort should be made to incorporate all fishing vessels fishing in the region, regardless of size, category and flags. The base should be flexible enough to accept records on artisanal fleets on a sample basis to enable an overview of the fleet, even if the data are not punctual.

The proposed structure of the core database will include for industrial vessels at least data on:

• Year


• National registration number


• Port of Registration


• Country (flag)


• Home port (operational base)


• Country issuing the licence


• Year of building


• Type of vessel


• Main fishing gear(s)


• Length (overall)


• Gross registered tonnage


• Power of the main engine


• Material of building (no full consensus)

For artisanal vessel data, structure will be proposed based on current work undertaken in collaboration with COPEMED project.

In order to achieve this task, the SAC should take advantage from all the sources of information available.

The database must be maintained at the level of each Management Unit as well, with respect to fishing areas, target species, effort parameters, etc., and should be maintained and updated in parallel with the effort statistics and other items collected for the various management units. The database could be further expanded when detailed effort data (as well as other dynamic data) could be better defined and systematically assessed. In this respect, each relevant research group within SAC should create and maintain dataset, that must be interrelated and harmonized accordingly.

Defining the units of effort based on agreed parameters should be further studied by SAC once some specific studies have been undertaken in various management areas on a pilot basis and for different gear/species/conditions.

Appendix F

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE SUB-COMMITTEES
OF THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

1. General for all Sub-Committees

• Elaborate on the precise terms of reference for the scientific activities to be realized on the basis of the Scientific Advisory Committee's mandate, with special attention on the shared stocks;

• Organize the inter-session preparatory work, including working groups when necessary;

• Analyse the results of these works and elaborate a summary for the Scientific Advisory Committee;

• Report to the Scientific Advisory Committee on a range of options for management and research, on the basis of work carried out during the intersession;

• Call the attention of the Scientific Advisory Committee on encountered or foreseeable problems and recommend solutions;

• Coordinate, where appropriate, and subject to the Scientific Advisory Committee's approval, with other scientific bodies working in similar fields;

• Analyse the methodology and propose improvements if appropriate.

2. Specifics for each Sub-Committee

Sub-Committee for Stock Assessment (SCSA)

• Organize the scientific activities to carry out assessments of particular stocks and in particular of shared stocks;

• Review and analyse the assessments done during the intersession, including the joint GFCM/ICCAT working group on large pelagic species;

• Provide annotated summaries of the assessments to SAC;

• Review and analyze the assessment methods and propose the most appropriate ones.

Sub-Committee on Fishery Statistics and Information

• Provide support to the other sub-committees of the Scientific Advisory Committee in the field of statistical methodology, data bases conceptualisation, design, harmonization and analysis.

• Review the updating and maintainance of regional databases concerning GFCM as a whole;

• Review the updating and maintainance of other data bases including geographical information systems (GIS) relevant to the Scientific Advisory Committee;

• Ensure the compatibility and exchange with other national and international organizations and institutions concerned with fisheries statistics data and information as well as with FAO/FIGIS;

• Identify the type and level of details and desegragation required for the work of the other Sub-Committees. The identification of sources of errors involved in the data collection and processing should also be idenditifed.

Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences

• Review and analyze socio-economic studies available in view of identifying options and evaluating measures related to fishing management;

• Promote bio-economic research and identify the appropriate methods for the harmonization and implementation of the fishery management measures;

• Strengthen and network social sciences expertise in the region;

• Analyze data of economical and social nature and evaluate related indicators.

Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems

• Establish links with existing regional bodies concerned with studies on the relationship/interaction between environment and marine ecosystems;

• Provide analysis of ecosystems trends and environmental conditions in relation to trends in fishery resources, biodiversity and genetic resources;

• Evaluate the impacts of human action on the marine ecosystem, including fisheries and propose measures that aim to limit the negative effect of these actions;

• Assess the relevance of international agreements on conservation and environment protection on Mediterranean fishery resources management.

• Propose to the SAC research programmes related to the impacts of fisheries on the marine environment and marine ecosystems.

Appendix G

RESEARCH SURVEYS BY COUNTRY - INVENTORY BY GFCM/SAC