The Malta MedFish4Ever Declaration, a practical example of EU's successful neighbourhood policy. Photo: EU/FIS

Scientists urge EU to stop overfishing crisis in the Mediterranean

EUROPEAN UNION
Friday, September 21, 2018, 20:50 (GMT + 9)

Experts from around the world are urging the European Union (EU) authorities to adopt a management plan based on science in the western Mediterranean and to slow the impact of bottom trawling.

More than 150 international scientists have signed Oceana’s "Declaration of the Mediterranean", urging the EU and its member states to stop the environmental crisis in the Mediterranean, the sea with the highest level of overfishing in the world according to a recent report from FAO.

"This environmental crisis is not a simple warning, but the harsh reality of the Mediterranean. Europe has been turning its back on the situation for decades and its passivity has taken us to a point close to no return," says Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe. "The EU must adopt a management plan for the Western Mediterranean based on science to stop overfishing and thus avoid the worst case scenario: the collapse of fish stocks."

Oceana notes that overfishing affects around 90 per cent of the evaluated fish stocks, with average overexploitation rates more than double the recommended levels of sustainability. According to the scientists who support the Declaration, a multi-year plan for the western Mediterranean should include the following to be effective:

• Restrict bottom trawling, the most destructive fishing gear, increasing the trawl free zone throughout the year from a current depth of 50 m to at least 100 m, where aggregations of juveniles and sensitive marine habitats are found. Coastal waters should be reserved for well-managed and low-impact fisheries.
• Protect the laying and breeding areas in zones of more than 100 m by temporary or permanent fishing closures.
• Establish catch and effort limits in line with scientific recommendations in order to restore and recover fish stocks to sustainable levels. The Mediterranean countries are bound by the Common Fisheries Policy to restore all their stocks to sustainable levels by 2020 at the latest.

This call for action by scientists takes place before the European Parliament negotiations, which will be held on Monday September 24 at the Fisheries Committee, and which should end with the approval of the first multi-year management plan for the demersal species of the Mediterranean at the beginning of 2019.

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