The Mediterranean fishery management: A call for shifting the current paradigm from duplication to synergy

Abstract

International audience ; Independence of science and best available science are fundamental pillars of the UN-FAO code of conduct 41 for responsible fisheries and are also applied to the European Union (EU) Common Fishery Policy (CFP), 42 with the overarching objective being the sustainable exploitation of the fisheries resources. CFP is 43 developed by DG MARE, the department of the European Commission responsible for EU policy on 44 maritime affairs and fisheries, which has the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries 45 (STECF) as consultant body. In the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the General Fisheries Commission for the 46 Mediterranean (FAO-GFCM), with its own Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (GFCM-SAC), plays a 47 critical role in fisheries governance, having the authority to adopt binding recommendations for fisheries 48 conservation and management. During the last years, advice on the status of the main stocks in the 49 Mediterranean and Black Sea has been provided both by GFCM-SAC and EU-STECF, often without a clear 50coordination and a lack of shared rules and practices. This has led in the past to: i) duplications of the 51 advice on the status of the stocks thus adding confusion in the management process and, ii) a continuous 52 managers' interference in the scientific process by DG MARE officials hindering its transparency and 53 independence. Thus, it is imperative that this stalemate is rapidly resolved and that the free role of science 54 in Mediterranean fisheries assessment and management is urgently restored to assure the sustainable 55 exploitation of Mediterranean marine resources in the future.