EU approves sustainable fishing proposals in the Mediterranean

The EU has adopted a proposal for sustainable fishing opportunities for 2022 in the Mediterranean.

The proposal promotes the sustainable management of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas and delivers on the political commitments made in the MedFish4Ever and Sofia Declarations.

Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, said, “Sustainable fisheries management in all of the EU’s sea basins is our commitment and responsibility. While we have seen some improvement in recent years in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, we are still far from reaching sustainable levels and more effort is needed to achieve this goal. We are, therefore, today making our proposal for fish catches in the two sea basins fully reliant on scientific advice.”

The proposal implements the Western Mediterranean multiannual management plan for demersal stocks with the aim of further reducing the fishing, in line with scientific advice. This part of the proposal will be complemented once the relevant scientific advice this year becomes available. The ultimate objective is to reach the maximum sustainable yield, the maximum amount of fish that fishers can take out of the sea without compromising the regeneration and future productivity of the stock, by January 1, 2025, at the latest.

The proposal also includes management measures for eel, red coral, dolphinfish, blackspot seabream, and deep-water shrimp stocks in the Ionian and Levant Seas and the Strait of Sicily.

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