“73% of commercial species are still overexploited and fishing pressure, although less severe than in the past, remains twice what is considered sustainable”
Overfishing in the Mediterranean and Black Seas has fallen significantly over the past decade, but still accounts for 73% of traded species – so the goal of sustainable fisheries is still far from being achieved, according to a UN report which was released today.
In this zone, where one inhabitant in 1,000 is a fisherman, improving the management of fisheries resources is vital, both for the local economy and for the preservation of biodiversity, this report of the General Committee for Fisheries for the Mediterranean (CGPM) underlines. of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The 2022 report was released as the 15th Conference of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15 Biodiversity, begins in Canada.
Although pressure is easing a bit, particularly for species under multilateral management plans, “73% of commercial species are still overexploited and fishing pressure, while less severe than in the past, remains twice as high than what is considered sustainable,” according to the report.
In its previous report, the CGPM estimated that overexploitation affected 75% of traded species in 2018 and 88% in 2012.
Encouragingly, the CGPM found “significant reductions in overfishing in stocks of European cod in the Mediterranean, flounder in the Black Sea and sole in the Adriatic, which are currently subject to one or more management plans”
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It is vital for the countries concerned to “reverse the trend of diminishing water resources” and “link efficiency with sustainability,” notes Miguel Bernal, executive secretary of the CGPM.
The fishing sector in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea provides an annual production of 1,189,200 tons (excluding tuna species) and its revenue is estimated at 2.9 billion dollars. The sector accounts for “an estimated half a million jobs across the value chain”, of which 194,000 are direct jobs on vessels (almost 60% of which in traditional fishing).
The sector reached its peak productivity in the late 1980s and catches have been declining since then. As of 2020, due mainly to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the sector recorded losses of approximately 15% of catch production, 19% of revenue and 14% of jobs,” according to the report.
The CGPM highlights that livelihoods in coastal zones are threatened by an aging workforce and job losses: in 2020 over half of seafarers were over 40 and only 10% were under 25.
“A ‘blue transformation’ of the fisheries sector, i.e. one that respects marine ecosystems, is the only way to ensure that the sector continues to support food production and the livelihoods of current and future generations,” noted Manuel Barrange, Director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Directorate.
The CGPM, which brings together 23 countries, was founded in 1949 to play an active role in the conservation of fish stocks in the international waters of the Mediterranean.
The zones in which fishing is prohibited or regulated are the fruit of negotiations, mainly between the authorities and the fishermen. Today around two-thirds of the Mediterranean and Black Seas are protected in ten regulated fishing zones defined by the CGPM.
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