A new EU oceans policy could begin to reverse the overfishing of the Mediterranean, by placing new safeguards on EU fish stocks while cementing Europe’s leadership of UN bodies that govern the industry.
The European Ocean Pact published on 5 June "aims to promote sustainable ocean management and ensure the health, resilience, and productivity of the oceans and thus the prosperity of the EU’s coastal communities.” Costas Kadis, the European Commissioner for Fisheries, will present the European Ocean Pact at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice next week.
Europe's time to lead in fisheries
The Mediterranean coast is the right place to demonstrate the pact’s potential. The region is crucial to Europe’s environmental health, economic stability and food security. Yet nearly 60% of fish stocks in the Mediterranean have been fished beyond safe biological limits, threatening the region’s marine biodiversity and the wellbeing of coastal communities.
Kadis knows the Mediterranean waters well. As a biologist, conservationist and academic working on the sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation and environmental education in Cyprus, he is well aware of the impacts of overfishing. Now he has an opportunity to make a meaningful change for future generations.
The EU is well placed to influence the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), a part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization which governs much of the region’s fisheries. Of the GFCM’s 23 members, one is the EU itself and another 10 are EU member states.
To rebuild Mediterranean fish stocks, the EU should encourage the GFCM to adopt and enforce measures such as monitoring, control and surveillance. These will protect marine biodiversity, level the playing field for legal fishers and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Some member states are failing to control their fleets or tackle illegal fishing, a problem that must be countered by greater enforcement of GFCM regulations. The rules were already adopted in 2023 and are set to come into effect later this year. The GFCM’s compliance mechanism provides the means to act against members that fail to follow them.
This November’s meeting of the GFCM’s compliance committee provides an opportunity for the EU to ensure that this new system is correctly and effectively implemented to tackle non-compliance.
Wider vessel registration to tackle illegal fishing
Beyond enforcement, new regulations are also required to plug compliance loopholes. Here, too, the EU should bring its influence within the GFCM to bear.
There are currently no requirements for vessels fishing in the GFCM area to have International Maritime Organization (IMO) registration numbers, which hampers efforts to tackle both non-compliance and illegal fishing. Vessels flagged to EU member states that fish outside EU waters are required to have such numbers.
The EU-aligned Mediterranean Advisory Council (MEDAC) has supported extending this requirement to all GFCM members to create a level playing field and the EU should formally support this initiative.
Access to accurate and publicly available information on a fishing vessel’s previous and current owners is crucial for tackling illegal fishing, but many countries are reluctant to share this information, or do not collect it at all. The same is true for transparency: It can prove difficult or even impossible to determine the true beneficial ownership of a vessel. Such information can help uncover the identities of those who profit from and are legally accountable for illegal fishing activities.
The EU is already pursuing a zero-tolerance approach to illegal fishing. Kadis should propose alignment of GFCM with other regional fishery bodies, where countries publish comprehensive details of every vessel’s ownership and history.
Other innovative tools, such as remote electronic monitoring systems and human observers are critical for strengthening enforcement and data collection, but are still lacking in the Mediterranean. As this is a requirement for certain EU vessels from 2028 onwards, the GFCM should apply the same requirements on non-EU vessels. The EU should use its power within GFCM to lay the groundwork for developing such methods.
The challenges facing Mediterranean fisheries require immediate and decisive action. By ensuring the European Ocean Pact has a positive influence on Mediterranean fisheries governance more broadly, Kadis can inspire others to take action to protect this most vital of seas.
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