The European Commission yesterday declared operational the Mediterranean Regional Advisory Council (RAC). This RAC is the seventh stakeholder-led body created to give the fishing industry and other interested parties a greater say in the way fisheries are managed at EU level. With the establishment of the Mediterranean RAC, the governance framework set up by the reform of the Common Fisheries policy is now complete.The Mediterranean RAC will provide a forum for all stakeholders from Mediterranean Member States to debate the future of fisheries management of fisheries in this area, and provide advice and recommendations on policy to the European Commission and to Member States. It will include representatives from the catching sector, aquaculture producers, processors, traders, recreational and sport fishermen, environmental NGOs and consumers. Representatives of other Mediterranean countries may be invited to participate in the RAC as active observers. The creation of RACs was one of the pillars of the 2002 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Six other RACs have been created since 2002: the North Sea RAC (2004), the Pelagic RAC and the North Western Waters RAC (2005), the Baltic Sea RAC (2006), the Long Distance RAC and the South Western Waters RAC (2007).
