Fisheries ministers attending the high-level MedFish4Ever conference in Malta (3-4 October 2023) have been called upon by the NGO community to end the illegal bottom trawling, which they say that is driving the destruction of protected areas in the Mediterranean.
They want decisionmakers to strengthen compliance and enforcement ahead of November’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) annual session in Croatia.
In a Call to Action published during MedFish4Ever, member organisations of the Med Sea Alliance, a coalition of NGOs working to improve the health and productivity of the Mediterranean Sea, said “taking decisive action to end bottom trawling in the Mediterranean Sea in areas where it is already banned, and hence considered illegal, should be a top priority for GFCM members, who are together responsible for promoting sustainable fisheries and protecting marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean”.
Aniol Esteban, Chair of the Med Sea Alliance and director of the Marilles Foundation said it is vital fisheries ministers recognise that not only is illegal bottom trawling taking place in the Mediterranean, but this destructive practice is putting ecosystems and livelihoods at risk.
Esteban added that many current protection measures exist only “on paper” and lack full enforcement.
“Today, 73% of assessed Mediterranean fish stocks are fished outside biologically sustainable limits, with fishing pressure on average twice the level considered sustainable. Across the Mediterranean, governments must take urgent steps to end illegal bottom trawling by strengthening transparency, compliance, and the enforcement of fisheries management measures,” he said.
According to the Med Sea Alliance’s online Atlas tool, bottom trawling is occurring in areas of the Mediterranean where it is prohibited.
“Although the GFCM, the regional fisheries management body, has agreed measures aimed at fighting illegal fishing, these are not always adequately implemented or enforced,” Esteban said. “This lack of enforcement and compliance is putting Mediterranean fisheries, ecosystems and livelihoods at serious risk. Yet the technology required for enforcement is affordable, easy to adopt and has been successfully deployed in other regions. What we now need is the collective political will that will prove crucial for putting this enforcement in place.”
Med Sea Alliance and its members are calling on GFCM to fully enforce trawl bans and to require mandatory and continuous use of automatic identification system (AIS) tracking for all vessels over 15 metres long. The alliance is also calling for vessel monitoring systems (VMS) to be urgently installed on vessels in the GFCM area above 15 metres and for GFCM to establish a regional vessel monitoring system.
