GFCM postpones protection of Mediterranean depths — Mongabay

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), at a session in Rome, Italy, adopted long-term harvesting strategies for several species but postponed a decision on new fishing restrictions to protect deep-sea ecosystems and a cold-water coral reef. Mongabay reports on the outcome of the meeting, held on October 26–30, 2026, with the participation of 23 states and the European Union.

Strategies for hake and shrimp

The Commission approved long-term harvesting strategies for European hake and deep-water rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily. It also agreed on a plan for giant red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily, the Ionian Sea, and the Levantine Sea. All these stocks are considered overexploited.

The plans provide for allowable catch volumes and agreed levels of sustainable resource use. At the same time, in the short term, some of them allow a slight increase in the number of fishing days or the lifting of a ban on the use of passive fishing gear. Separately, the GFCM approved a long-term strategy for common dolphinfish, whose exploitation is considered sustainable.

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Deep-sea and coral protection postponed

The GFCM Scientific Advisory Committee and the Working Group on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems recommended extending the current ban on bottom trawling at depths greater than 1,000 meters to areas at depths of 800 to 1,000 meters. Such a move would additionally protect about 100,000 square kilometers of deep-sea ecosystems.

Türkiye submitted the relevant proposal, which was supported by Egypt, Lebanon, Montenegro, and Morocco. However, the EU blocked it and called for the matter to be revisited at the 2027 meeting. Graziela Romito, Director General of the Department of Sea Fisheries and Aquaculture at Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, said that Italy does not consider the available evidence sufficient for a permanent blanket ban across the entire Mediterranean Sea.

The Commission also did not adopt a proposal for a permanent ban on commercial and recreational bottom fishing in the Cabliers Coral Mound Province area in the southern Alboran Sea between Spain and Morocco. It is the only known actively growing cold-water coral reef in the Mediterranean. Morocco asked for the decision to be postponed until next year.