The EU has put forward a set of ambitious proposals for this year’s annual meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in Tunis from 23 to 27 March 2009. If adopted, these proposals will give a major boost both to the GFCM and to the sustainable management of fisheries resources in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea. The proposals contain measures to improve control and monitoring (introduction of a fishing fleet register, a vessel monitoring system for all vessels above 15m, data collection) and improved selectivity of trawler gears. The proposals are in line with the views of GFCM’s Scientific Advisory Committee, where independent scientists from the different Mediterranean countries meet and share their data and analyses. They complement the EU’s unilateral measures for its vessels in the Mediterranean. Taken together with the EU’s existing rules, these international measures constitute a landmark package of initiatives to protect fish species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and will establish a level playing field for all fishermen in these areas. Moreover, they will provide national administrations of Mediterranean and Black Sea countries with a framework, based on a precautionary approach, which will allow them to better plan the management of fishing fleets capacity in balance with fishing opportunities. 24 countries are members of the GFCM, including the European Community
