Publications

25
Sep
2023

Call to Action: Ending illegal bottom trawling in the Mediterranean Sea

Ending illegal bottom trawling in the Mediterranean Sea: A Call to Action for the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

A Call to Action for the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 

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 all GFCM Contracting Parties responsible for promoting sustainable fisheries and protecting marine biodiversity. First, it is vital to recognise that not only is illegal bottom trawling taking place in the Mediterranean, but this destructive practice is putting ecosystems and livelihoods at risk, and that many protection measures currently exist only “on paper” – i.e., without full enforcement. Second, urgent steps must be taken to end illegal bottom trawling by strengthening transparency, compliance, and the enforcement of GFCM measures.To help accelerate government action, several member organisations of the Med Sea Alliance (MSA) have joined forces to examine and expose illegal bottom trawling and recommend concrete solutions to both national authorities and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).

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3
Feb
2022

The EU and its Member States must fulfil their commitment to stop public money from supporting wasteful economic activities that degrade our environment. We urge EU leaders to stop subsidizing fossil fuels.

Despite the adoption of the Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement, EU governments continue to provide billions of fossil fuels subsidies that degrade our environment and contribute to the climate crisis. The fact that there is no single commonly accepted definition of fossil fuel subsidies further creates lack of accountability and transparency in reporting.

Lower taxes or full tax exemptions are allowed for commercial fuel in the aviation, transport, fisheries, energy generation and maritime sectors, and for the production and extraction of coal, gas and oil.

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2
Feb
2022

Local fishers experience can contribute to a better knowledge of marine resources

Overall, our study evidences that fisher’s perception represents an important source of complementary information to describe bottom trawling fisheries characteristics and the long-term changes of demersal target species in the Western Mediterranean Sea.Our results document important changes in the bottom trawling activity in the study area and in the abundance of commercial species with time according to fishers’ perceptions. Our results mostly match quantitative information from national statistics and stock assessment analyses. 

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