The forty-first session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as well as the eighth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance was attended by delegates of 22 contracting parties, as well as of three cooperating non-contracting parties and one non-contracting party. Representatives from 20 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional projects as well as the Bureaus of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, were also in attendance.

The forty-second session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as well as the ninth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance was attended by delegates of 22 contracting parties, as well as of four cooperating non-contracting parties and two non-contracting parties. Representatives from 15 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional projects as well as the Bureaux of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, were also in attendance. During the session, progress in activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. Moreover, cooperation activities within the framework of agreements with contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties and with partner organizations were discussed. In light of increasing cooperation with the GFCM, the Commission granted cooperating noncontracting party status to Jordan. In relation to the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the GFCM area of application, a total of eleven binding recommendations were adopted, dealing with the following issues: multiannual management plans for European eel, for deep-water red shrimp fisheries in the Levant and Ionian Seas and for demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily; conservation of sharks and rays; international joint inspection and surveillance in the Strait of Sicily; regional research programmes on blue crab in the Mediterranean and on rapa whelk fisheries in the Black Sea; further emergency measures for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea; access to information and data related to monitoring, control and surveillance and regional marking of fishing gear. Futhermore, the Commission agreed to launch its second performance review in 2019 and welcomed the establishment of five subregional technical units in Bulgaria, Croatia, Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia. Finally, the Commission adopted its programme of work for the next intersession and approved its budget amounting to USD2 537 241 for 2019 as well as a number of strategic actions to be funded through extrabudgetary resources. It also unanimously endorsed the new Bureaux of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries, the Working Group on the Black Sea and the Committee on Administration and Finance. Finally, on the occasion of its resumed session held in December 2018, the Commission unanimously elected its new Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons.

The forty-third session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the tenth session of the Committee on Administration and Finance were attended by delegates of 19 contracting parties, as well as of three cooperating non-contracting parties and two non-contracting parties. Representatives from 13 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional projects, as well as the Bureaus of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, were also in attendance. During the session, progress in activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. Moreover, the outcomes of the second GFCM performance review were commented. In relation to the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the GFCM area of application, eight binding recommendations were adopted, dealing with the following issues: the use of anchored fish aggregating devices in common dolphinfish fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, information on access agreements in the GFCM area of application, the establishment of a list of vessels presumed to have carried out illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the GFCM area of application, the sustainable exploitation of blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea and red coral in the Mediterranean Sea, multiannual management plans for turbot fisheries in the Black Sea and sustainable demersal fisheries in the Adriatic Sea, and management measures for sustainable trawl fisheries targeting giant red shrimp and blue and red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily. Furthermore, the Commission discussed issues related to the mandate of the GFCM Executive Secretary.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) held its twentieth session in Tangiers, Morocco, from 26 to 29 June 2018. The session was attended by delegates from 14 Mediterranean contracting parties, seven observers, representatives of the FAO regional projects, the GFCM Secretariat and invited experts. The Committee reviewed the work carried out during the 2017–2018 intersession, including within its four subregional subsidiary bodies (Subregional Committee for the Adriatic Sea, Subregional Committee for the Central Mediterranean, Subregional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean and Subregional Committee for the Western Mediterranean) which all met during the intersession. In relation to the mid-term strategy (2017–2020) towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries, the Committee welcomed the progress in multiple priority activities as well as cooperation with partners. Issues in relation to fishery data quality, data collection needs and methodologies, estimation and quantification of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and formulation of advice on the status of fisheries were discussed. Recalling the need to improve knowledge on small-scale fisheries in the the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the work underway to test a characterization matrix as well as the forthcoming Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea were tackled. Furthermore, the Committee formulated advice on the following aspects: i) overall status of Mediterranean stocks; ii) management of European eel; iii) management of deep-sea fisheries and identification of VMEs and iv) roadmap towards a network of essential fish habitats. In line with the subregional approach and based on the conclusions of the four subregional committees, the SAC also provided specific advice for each subregion. In particular, attention was paid to: i) blackspot seabream in the western Mediterranean; ii) demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily; iii) small pelagic fisheries in the Adriatic Sea; iv) demersal fisheries in the Adriatic Sea, including the monitoring of the Jabuka/Pomo Pit fisheries restricted area; and v) deep-water red shrimps in the central and eastern Mediterranean. In addition, the Committee also endorsed un updated table of priority species by subregion. Finally, the Committee agreed upon its work plan for 2018–2020 and elected its new Bureau.

This report summarizes the discussions held during the forty-fourth session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and the eleventh session of the Committee on Administration and Finance. During the session, progress in activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, compliance and other strategic activities was reviewed. The Commission adopted 21 binding recommendations and 14 resolutions dealing with fisheries management and conservation, aquaculture, compliance, vessel monitoring and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as the GFCM 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Moreover, the Commission reviewed issues related to its functioning and to the mandate of the GFCM Executive Secretary. Finally, the Commission adopted its programme of work for the next intersession and approved its autonomous budget for 2022 as well as a number of strategic actions to be funded through extrabudgetary resources. The Commission also renewed the GFCM Bureau as well as the mandates of the Bureaus of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture and the Working Group on the Black Sea, and endorsed the new Bureaus of the Compliance Committee and the Committee on Administration and Finance.

This report presents the outcomes of the twenty-first session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) held in Cairo, Egypt, from 24 to 27 June 2019. During the session, the Committee reviewed the work carried out during the 2018–2019 intersession, including within its four subregional subsidiary bodies. Ce rapport présente les résultats de la vingt et unième session du Comité scientifique consultatif des pêches (CSC) de la Commission générale des pêches pour la Méditerranée (CGPM) tenue au Caire, Égypte, du 24 au 27 juin 2019. Au cours de la session, le Comité a passé en revue les travaux réalisés pendant la période intersessions 2018-2019, notamment dans le cadre de ses quatre organes subsidiaires sous-régionaux.

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