Over 20 countries and the European Union have adopted 34 measures to conserve and sustainably use marine living resources in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) closed its forty-sixth session in Split, Croatia, with a notable decision banning bottom fishing, such as destructive bottom trawling, in a 400-square-kilometre area around the deep-sea coral of Cabliers Bank. The ban will take effect starting 2024, aiming to prevent the deterioration of this biodiversity hotspot in the Alboran Sea between Spain and Morocco.
Cabliers Bank, located in the westernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea, is a melting pot of marine biodiversity and a chokepoint for marine traffic, with 25% of global maritime traffic crossing the Alboran Sea annually. Researchers have called for Cabliers Bank to be designated as a Fisheries Restricted Area (FRA) for over a decade, due to its potential role as a refuge for young fish and its growth as the only cold-water reef in the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean countries also agreed to adopt a system that will empower the GFCM to take action against members who fail to adhere to gear restrictions or illegally fish in no-trawl zones.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Fishing Restrictions Rolled Out in Black Sea and Mediterranean
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