Gökçeada is Turkey’s largest island, and acts as a natural center for the transition points of migrating fish, located at the entrance of Saros Bay, and at a point where the Marmara Sea and the North Aegean waters meet. The banks surrounding Gökçeada, create rich fishing beds. It also hosts Turkey’s only marine park established in 1999. A lack of stock assessments, as well as co-management, has impeded fisheries management capabilities in the region. This document presents a first baseline report on the fisheries of Gökçeada to facilitate its transition to incorporating the principles of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. This report was prepared as part of the project «Transition to Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management and Designing a Management Plan in Gökçeada, Turkey», carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and managed by Ege University with the participation of many other stakeholders and financed by the FAO EastMed Project. The first part of the report presents information on the fisheries, and the second section, presents threats to the sustainability of fishing. A review of all existing relevant data was completed in addition to fisher interviews performed in 2020 to properly understand the current state of the fisheries and threats affecting sustainability. The baseline report is the first step towards the preparation of a management plan for fisheries in Gökçeada. The success of this initiative requires the joint willingness and determination of all stakeholders, especially from the official institutions and the fishery cooperative.

Gökova Bay is situated in the eastern Aegean Sea, southwest of Anatolia, Turkey. In 1988, a considerable part of the land and marine areas of Gökova Bay were incorporated into a Special Environmental Protection Area. In addition, six nofishing zones were established in 2010. With over 723 identified marine macroscopic species, 34 of which are protected under national and international treaties, the biodiversity in Gökova Bay is considered to be high. Fishing is an important economic activity in the region and has developed as a small-scale enterprise because of the conditions of the coastline, geography and productivity of the bay, and the conservation status of the area. The fishery in the bay is characterized as a typical multispecies and multigear smallscale fishery that targets both demersal and pelagic species, as in many other Mediterranean countries. To secure the sustainability of the fisheries in the Gökova Bay marine protected area (MPA), a pilot case study on the implementation of the EAF in Gökova Bay was initiated in 2016 within the framework and with the financial support of the FAO Mediterranean Project EastMed. Various stakeholders, including fishery cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, several ministerial and other governmental and public institutions, as well as universities contributed to, and collaborated with, the project. This technical paper presents the EAF baseline report that was prepared to complete the planning phase of the project by defining the scope of the case study. It outlines the available information on the small-scale fisheries in Gökova Bay and documents relevant information about the fishery, the species and geographical areas covered in the case study, the socio-economic profile of the fishery and the institutional arrangements for its management.

Ecosystems are complex and dynamic natural units that produce goods and services beyond those of benefit to fisheries. Because fisheries have a direct impact on the ecosystem, which is also impacted by other human activities, they need to be managed in an ecosystem context. The meaning of the terms "ecosystem management", "ecosystem-based management", "ecosystem approach to fisheries" (EAF), etc., are still not universally defined and progressively evolving. The justification of EAF is evident in the characteristics of an exploited ecosystem and the impacts resulting from fisheries and other activities. The rich set of international agreements of relevance to EAF contains a large number of principles and conceptual objectives. Both provide a fundamental guidance and a significant challenge for the implementation of EAF. The available international instruments also provide the institutional foundations for EAF. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries is particularly important in this respect and contains provisions for practically all aspects of the approach. One major difficulty in defining EAF lies precisely in turning the available concepts and principles into operational objectives from which an EAF management plan would more easily be developed. The paper discusses these together with the types of action needed to achieve them. Experience in EAF implementation is still limited but some issues are already apparent,e.g. in added complexity, insufficient capacity, slow implementation, need for a pragmatic approach, etc. It is argued, in conclusion, that the future of EAF and fisheries depends on the way in which the two fundamental concepts of fisheries management and ecosystem management, and their respective stakeholders, will join efforts or collide.

"Sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems is high on regional, national and international agendas and central to the implementation of international agreements on biological diversity, responsible fisheries and fish stock management. Since 2001, when political commitments were made to implement the ecosystem approach, countries have begun to incorporate ecosystem considerations into their fisheries management and have met with varied success." "The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries covers both theoretical andapplied aspects of sustainable management, with a particular emphasis on reviewing concepts and addressing implementation issues in the form of case studies from around the world. Personal experiences are considered from diverse backgrounds and discuss the constraints encountered, strategies identified and best practices to facilitate further implementation."--BOOK JACKET.

FAO has promoted the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) as an appropriate framework for the sustainable development and management of fisheries worldwide. With a view to contribute to the identification of lessons and good practices for EAF implementation, this publication documents nine case studies that attempted to put into practice some of the key principles and tools of the approach in the Mediterranean Sea. The case studies were selected to cover a broad range of contexts including smallscale and industrial fisheries operating at local, national and sub-regional scales. It was not within the scope of the publication to evaluate the level of implementation of the ecosystem approach. A specific tool for monitoring implementation is proposed and exemplified. Case studies were analysed with a view to draw preliminary lessons regarding the enabling factors that facilitated the progress made as well as the challenges faced in the transition towards EAF-based management systems. Attention is drawn to key enabling conditions such as favourable policies, legislation and regulatory frameworks, the existence of regional mechanisms for cooperation, favourable market dynamics and social processes, and the relatively low complexity of the fishery systems analysed. A set of factors emerged that contributed to progress during implementation, such as the clear definition of fishing rights, the enhancement of mechanisms for compliance, scientific monitoring and adaptation of management measures, as well as the explicit consideration of biological and socioeconomic aspects in management actions. Further progress in the transition towards sustainable management systems is hampered by external and internal factors. External factors are related, for instance, to environmental changes, the poor regulation and control of competing sectors, consumer behaviour and the governance environment. Issues such as stakeholder representation, knowledge gaps and the availability of sustainable sources of funding are among common internal factors. The authors also discuss how slow progress in the implementation of management plans can generate discredit with the institutions and add additional challenges for any future initiatives to engage stakeholders in participatory management. The case-based results and lessons of how the ecosystem approach to fisheries was considered, developed and implemented in the fisheries discussed in this publication not only contribute to the documentation of current practices in the Mediterranean but may also guide future attempts to further develop the field.

Although the principles of an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) are not new, there is very little practical experience in their implementation. Translating high-level policy goals into operational objectives and actions is now the key challenge to sustainable fisheries. This describes the EAF approach and assesses its benefits, considers what is required for its implementation and the range of management measures available, and highlights outstanding research issues.

The implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) contributes to sustainable fisheries in various ways. The EAF-Nansen Programme has assisted several countries to understand, adopt and use an ecosystem approach in the management of their marine and coastal fisheries. The ecosystem approach to fisheries implementation monitoring tool (EAF IMT) is a tool for decision support and planning in the fisheries management process. It can be used by countries in strategic and operational planning processes for their fisheries, assisting them to determine where they are making acceptable progress and where there continue to be gaps and difficulties to address.