Mediterranean fisheries commission adopts stock plans, postpones two habitat protections

What you need to know

• The commission reported that members adopted 11 binding recommendations and two resolutions. Its package includes long-term harvest strategies for European hake and deep-water rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily, and giant red shrimp in several Mediterranean areas. A long-term strategy for common dolphinfish was also approved. 12
• Türkiye proposed extending the existing bottom-trawling restriction from waters deeper than 1,000 metres to those deeper than 800 metres. Agence Europe reported that this change would cover nearly 100,000 square kilometres of additional waters. The proposal was postponed rather than adopted. 13
• The other deferred habitat proposal concerned the Cabliers Coral Mound Province, between Spain and Morocco. It would restrict fishing in the area, but the supplied reporting does not establish what form any future measure might take. 1
• Accounts differ over why the bottom-trawling proposal did not proceed. Agence Europe reported that some members sought further consultations. Mongabay reported Italy’s concern that evidence did not justify a permanent, blanket ban, while Oceana attributed the result to Italy and Spain blocking the proposal. These are attributed explanations, not a settled account of the cause. 134
• The GFCM reported that the proportion of monitored Mediterranean and Black Sea stocks classified as overexploited declined from 87% in 2013 to 52% in 2025. That regional trend predates the session and cannot be treated as an effect of the decisions made in October 2026. 12

Why this matters

The meeting produced binding fisheries measures, but it did not resolve the two proposals aimed at restricting fishing in specified habitats. The plans are concrete management decisions; their conservation effects are not yet demonstrated in the supplied reporting. The outcome therefore combines agreed action with continued uncertainty over additional habitat protections. 123

What happens next

The postponed proposals are expected to return to a future GFCM session, although the sources do not specify when or what revised text might be considered. Members’ further consultations and the evidence they bring to any reconsideration will help determine whether either protection is adopted, and in what form. 134

What we know

• The GFCM’s official account presents the session as progress towards sustainably managing fisheries, while conservation organisation Oceana emphasises the setback for habitat protection. These reflect different aspects of the reported outcome. 24
• The sources agree that new fisheries measures were adopted and that the proposed extension of the deep-sea bottom-trawling restriction was not approved at this session. 1234
• The reported decline in overexploited stocks is a regional trend covering monitored Mediterranean and Black Sea stocks, not evidence that the latest decisions have already improved stock status. 12

What we don't know

• The supplied reporting does not give a final text or implementation timetable for each newly adopted management plan. 12
• It remains unclear whether either postponed habitat proposal will be adopted at a future session, or what its final scope would be. 134
• The available accounts do not establish a single agreed reason for postponing the trawling proposal, or specify what evidence and consultations members will rely on when reconsidering it. 134

Read the reporting

This WildNews briefing synthesises and summarises reporting from the sources below. WildNews did not produce the original reporting. Learn more about how we use AI