Food and Agriculture General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean Organization of the Commission générale des pêches United Nations pour la Méditerranée ISSN 2413-6905 THE STATE OF MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA FISHERIES 2018 Reference: FAO. 2018. The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome, Italy. pp. 164. THE STATE OF MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA FISHERIES 2018 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2018 Required citation: FAO. 2018. The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome. 172 pp. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. 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FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. Cover design: José Luis Castilla Civit Cover photograph: ©GFCM/Claudia Amico The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries Contents Table, fgures and boxes iv Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations and acronyms xii Introduction and methodology xiv Executive summary xviii PART 1. OVERVIEW OF THE STATUS AND TRENDS OF MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA FISHERIES 1 1. Fishing feet 4 2. Capture fisheries production 18 3. Socio-economics characteristics 32 4. Bycatch: discards and incidental catch of vulnerable species 48 5. Status of fshery resources 78 PART 2. MANAGEMENT OF MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA FISHERIES 89 6. Insights on small-scale and recreational fsheries 92 7. Fisheries management measures 110 8. The mid-term strategy towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fsheries 130 References 142 iii The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries Tables, fgures and boxes TABLES 1. Main species of commercial or conservation interest in the GFCM area of application xvi 2. Number of operating fishing vessels per GFCM contracting party, cooperating non-contracting party, non-contracting party or relevant non-state actor in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea 5 3. Average year of construction and age of fishing vessels in the GFCM vessel records (fleet register and authorized vessel list) database 9 4. Groups of fleet segments used for the analysis of fleet composition 12 5. Number of operating fishing vessels, by group of fleet segments and by GFCM contracting party, cooperating non-contracting party, non-contracting party or relevant non-state actor in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea 13 6. Group of fleet segments by GFCM subregion 15 7. Landings by country, 2014–2016 21 8. Landings by major group of species, 2014–2016 24 9. Landings by main commercial species (more than 1 percent of total landings) in the GFCM area of application 26 10. Bottom trawl fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 54 11. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by bottom trawl fisheries, by GFCM subregion 55 12. Beam trawl fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 57 13. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by beam trawl fisheries, by GFCM subregion 57 14. Longline fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 59 15. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by longline fisheries, by GFCM subregion 59 16. Purse seine fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 61 17. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by purse seine fisheries, by GFCM subregion 62 18. Dredge fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 63 19. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by dredge fisheries, by GFCM subregion 63 20. Small-scale fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 65 21. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by small-scale fisheries, by GFCM subregion 66 22. Pelagic trawl fishery landing composition by GFCM subregion 68 23. Main commercial and non-commercial species discarded by pelagic trawl fisheries, by GFCM subregion 68 24. Relative impact by vessel group (in percentage) on different groups of vulnerable species in the GFCM subregions 72 25. Latest validated assessments by priority species and GSA 86 26. Current exploitation rate by priority species and GSA with average value by species 86 27. Stock status of each Mediterranean stock considered in the analysis of biomass indicators 86 28. GFCM fisheries restricted areas established from 2005 to 2017 125 29. Summary of the management measures contained in GFCM recommendations and in technical elements for management 126 FIGURES 1. GFCM area of application, subregions and geographical subareas xvii 2. Fishing capacity (GT and engine power) of GFCM contracting parties, cooperating non-contracting parties and non-contracting parties operating in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea 7 3. Percentage of operating fishing vessels by geographical subarea 7 4. Percentage of operating fishing vessels by GFCM subregion 8 5. Average age of fishing fleet in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea 10 iv The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 6. Percentage of fleet segments operating in the GFCM area of application 12 7. Percentage of fleet segments operating in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea 13 8. Distribution of polyvalent vessels (all lengths) fleet segments by GFCM subregion 15 9. Distribution of trawlers (> 6 m LOA) fleet segments by GFCM subregion 15 10. Distribution of purse seiners and pelagic trawlers (> 6 m LOA) fleet segments by GFCM subregion 15 11. Trends in landings in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, by year, 1970–2016 19 12. Trends in landings of the largest producers (Turkey and Italy), 1970–2016 19 13. Trends in landings by country (catching up to 150 000 tonnes), 1970–2016 20 14. Trends in landings by country (catching up to 20 000 tonnes), 1970–2016 20 15. Countries contributing to at least 5 percent of total captures in the GFCM area of application, average landings in 2014–2016 22 16. Countries contributing to at least 5 percent of total captures in the Mediterranean Sea, average landings in 2014–2016 22 17. Total captures by country in the Black Sea, average landings in 2014–2016 22 18. Relative contribution (%) of the four groups of fleet segments in terms of landings 23 19. Landings by group of species (ISSCAAP) in the GFCM area of application, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 24 20. Landings by group of species (ISSCAAP) in the Mediterranean Sea, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 25 21. Landings by group of species (ISSCAAP) in the Black Sea, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 25 22. Annual landings in the GFCM area of application, by species, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 26 23. Annual landings in the Mediterranean Sea, by species, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 27 24. Annual landings in the Black Sea, by species, average values (percent) in 2014–2016 27 25. Landings by GFCM subregion and by country, average 2014–2016 28 26. Landings by GFCM subregion and by species, average 2014–2016 29 27. Landing value at first sale by CPCs and relevant non-state actors 33 28. Landing value by subregion 33 29. Percentage of total landing value by subregion 33 30.