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Report of the forty-first session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Budva, Montenegro, 16 - 20 October 2017

GFCM Report No. 41












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    Report of the forty-third session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)
    Athens, Greece, 4–8 November 2019
    2020
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    The forty-third session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the tenth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance were attended by delegates of 19 contracting parties, as well as of three cooperating non-contracting parties and two non-contracting parties. Representatives from 13 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional projects, as well as the Bureaus of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, were also in attendance. During the session, progress in activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. Moreover, the outcomes of the second GFCM performance review were commented. In relation to the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the GFCM area of application, eight binding recommendations were adopted, dealing with the following issues: the use of anchored fish aggregating devices in common dolphinfish fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, information on access agreements in the GFCM area of application, the establishment of a list of vessels presumed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the GFCM area of application, the sustainable exploitation of blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea and red coral in the Mediterranean Sea, multiannual management plans for turbot fisheries in the Black Sea and sustainable demersal fisheries in the Adriatic Sea, and management measures for sustainable trawl fisheries targeting giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily. Furthermore, the Commission discussed issues related to the mandate of the GFCM Executive Secretary.
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    Book (series)
    Report of the forty-second session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)
    Rome, Italy, 22–26 October 2018
    2019
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    The forty-second session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as well as the ninth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance was attended by delegates of 22 contracting parties, as well as of four cooperating non-contracting parties and two non-contracting parties. Representatives from 15 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional projects as well as the Bureaux of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, were also in attendance. During the session, progress in activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. Moreover, cooperation activities within the framework of agreements with contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties and with partner organizations were discussed. In light of increasing cooperation with the GFCM, the Commission granted cooperating noncontracting party status to Jordan. In relation to the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the GFCM area of application, a total of eleven binding recommendations were adopted, dealing with the following issues: multiannual management plans for European eel, for deep-water red shrimp fisheries in the Levant and Ionian Seas and for demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily; conservation of sharks and rays; international joint inspection and surveillance in the Strait of Sicily; regional research programmes on blue crab in the Mediterranean and on rapa whelk fisheries in the Black Sea; further emergency measures for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea; access to information and data related to monitoring, control and surveillance and regional marking of fishing gear. Futhermore, the Commission agreed to launch its second performance review in 2019 and welcomed the establishment of five subregional technical units in Bulgaria, Croatia, Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia. Finally, the Commission adopted its programme of work for the next intersession and approved its budget amounting to USD2 537 241 for 2019 as well as a number of strategic actions to be funded through extrabudgetary resources. It also unanimously endorsed the new Bureaux of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries, the Working Group on the Black Sea and the Committee on Administration and Finance. Finally, on the occasion of its resumed session held in December 2018, the Commission unanimously elected its new Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons.
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    FAO General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Report of the thirty-seventh session. Split, Croatia, 13–17 May 2013 2014
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    The thirty-seventh session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), including the fourth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance (CAF) and the seventh session of the Compliance Committee (CoC), was attended by representatives from 21 Contracting Parties, one non-GFCM Member country, and 11 observers. The Commission reviewed the intersessional activities of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ) as well as the outcome s of the Task Force established to modernize the GFCM legal and institutional framework. Among the measures adopted this year by the Commission, a recommendation on a multiannual management plan and on transitional conservation measures for fisheries of small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea has set actions aimed at minimizing the threat of overfishing and stock decline and encouraging the sustainable exploitation of these important target species while maintaining stable yields. In the Black Sea area, the Commission adopted a recommendation on the establishment of minimum standards for bottom-set gillnet fisheries for turbot and conservation of cetaceans, in order to guarantee the protection of juvenile turbots until they reach the reproductive size therefore contributing to the renewal of this population in the Black Sea. This measure also foresees standards for turbot fisheries aimed at reducing by-catch of cetaceans. In addition to these binding recommendations, the Commission ap proved two resolutions to promote the implementation of marine protected areas (including Fisheries Restricted Areas – FRAs) and to adopt guidelines on the management of fishing capacity according to resource availability in order to strengthen the control and monitoring of fishing effort and fishing capacity. Another outcome of the session was the adoption of guidelines on precautionary conservation measures aimed at minimizing undesirable effects on stocks and improving fisheries economic prof itability. In the field of aquaculture, taking into account the key role to be played by this sector towards food security and economic growth and recognizing the need to foster its sustainable development in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Commission agreed to establish the first multi-stakeholder platform involving all players in the sector. The Commission adopted its 2013 autonomous budget, amounting to US$1 940 973, along with its programme of work for the intersession, including un der the first GFCM Framework Programme for 2013–2018. The creation of five new working groups was agreed: three working groups on methodologies for socio-economic analysis, on small scale/artisanal fisheries and on recreational fisheries under the Subcommittee on Economic and Social Sciences (SCESS), one transversal working group on marine protected areas involving all subcommittees, and a working group for the revision of the GFCM Agreement. This year’s session was marked by substantial steps f orward to support the reform process launched in 2009 with the aim to modernize the institutional framework and ensure a more efficient functioning of the GFCM. The working group for the revision of the GFCM Agreement will be called to play a substantial role in this reform process, which should lead to enhanced sub-regional cooperation, the set-up of efficient mechanisms to ensure compliance to binding decisions, the establishment of a roadmap to fight illegal fishing, thus leading to improved long-term sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. An extraordinary session, to be held in 2014, will examine the outcomes of this reform process.

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