Saving Seafood

FAO, GFCM celebrate work done to combat IUU fishing over the last decade

June 6, 2025 — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) have come together to celebrate the International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing on 5 June.

The date was chosen in 2015 to mark the entry into force of the Port State Measures Agreement, the first binding international agreement which sought to address IUU fishing and which has been ratified by more than 50 nations and the European Union. Most recently, China signed the agreement.

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Med countries commit to fight illegal fishing, preserve ecosystems

November 12, 2019 — The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) — under the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization — has moved to increase fisheries transparency, protect threatened corals, and preserve fish breeding grounds.

The enforcement of a package of measures will be vital to help revert the “overfishing crisis” of this sea, said NGO Oceana, since they will create areas where fish can reproduce safely and will hinder illegal fishing.

“Mediterranean countries have taken an important step to restore the abundance of this sea and protect some of its most vulnerable wildlife. Oceana urges them now to enforce these decisions and adopt robust compliance systems including sanctions, so that these decisions are truly effective. GFCM’s credibility will be at stake as long as the Mediterranean remains the world’s most overexploited sea,” said Pascale Moehrle, executive director for Oceana Europe.

Oceana particularly welcomed commitments to fight illegal fishing, protect corals and fish habitats, and comply with “fisheries restricted areas”, or FRAs.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

UN, EU body’s efforts to protect Mediterranean criticized

October 31, 2018 — The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has adopted 11 recommendations in a bid to address the critical situation of stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, it has said.

The regional fisheries management organization, created under both the EU and the United Nations, took the decisions at its 42nd session, held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy.

“After a year of continuous efforts, all countries involved have reached, for the first time, a consensus on all new proposals presented,” it said. “These binding decisions relate in particular to multi-annual management plans for trawl fisheries in the Levant, the Ionian Sea and the Strait of Sicily, conservation measures for sharks and rays, a multiannual management plan for European eel in the Mediterranean, and further emergency measures for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea.”

Moreover, important decisions towards improving monitoring control and surveillance have been adopted, such as international joint inspection and surveillance schemes outside the waters under national jurisdiction in the Strait of Sicily and the Adriatic Sea, the marking of fishing gear, and access to information and data related to monitoring, control and surveillance, it said.

In light of the growing focus on non-indigenous species, that are transforming Mediterranean and Black Sea ecosystems, the body also agreed on the creation of a monitoring network for these species — a first for the region — as well as on regional research programs for blue crab in the Mediterranean and for rapa whelk in the Black Sea.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

European Union agrees on Mediterranean stock recovery strategy

June 9, 2016 — The 40th annual session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) drew to a successful close with agreement on a raft of measures aimed at reversing the worrying trend of declining fish stocks in the region.

Decisions taken at the meeting in Malta are in line with the European Commission’s (EC’s) strategy to improve the state of the Mediterranean fish stocks and the economic prospects of the fishing industry.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella expressed his deep satisfaction with the outcome, which “ushers in a new era of action to help fish stocks recover and fishing communities thrive.”

He said, “This year’s GFCM annual session was a truly historic meeting. After the troubling diagnosis concerning the future of Mediterranean fish stocks and the fishing economy, we now started to take corrective action. I am convinced that the steps agreed will usher in a new era of action that will help fish stocks recover and fishing communities thrive. The progress made at GFCM was a significant boost to the European Commission’s #MedFish4Ever campaign.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com