Archipelagos Institute with a big group of NGOs sent a letter to EU Member States—Fisheries Attachés, Members of European Parliament—Committee on Fisheries and to the European Commission—Commissioner Vella and DG MARE. You can read the letter below:

The Mediterranean Sea is in deep crisis. Over 90% of the assessed Mediterranean fish stocks are overexploited[1]. Despite this being known for years, little action has been undertaken so far[2]^,[3],[4],[5]. Furthermore, several sensitive species of seabirds, marine mammals and marine reptiles are incidentally caught in the Mediterranean. The EU has a special responsibility for this bleak situation, being the main fishing actor in terms of catches, number of vessels and fleet capacity[6]. The exploitation of Mediterranean fisheries resources exclusively under the EU competence is on average three times higher than sustainable levels and there has been no sign in the past decade of any significant improvements in the exploitation regime[7].

This alarming state is the result of decades of fisheries mismanagement, misreporting, illegal fishing and ignoring scientific advice. A so-called “Mediterranean particularity” has been too long an excuse to neglect action, compromising the health of the fisheries resources and generating a discrepancy in management performance within the EU in relation to other areas such as the North East Atlantic. This irresponsible situation has to radically change now.

The first Mediterranean MAP—multiannual plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea[8]—should mark a milestone for a new, more efficient management regime. It is a starting point, but to be effective in recovering the targeted stocks it needs to adhere to the best available scientific advice. Anchovy and sardine in the Adriatic Sea are overexploited and the stocks are likely to decline further[9]. As advised by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), the pelagic fisheries in the Mediterranean qualify for an output control rule[10].

Research has shown that the current system of technical measures has failed. In order to reduce excessive fishing mortality and ensure sustainable fisheries management of small pelagic stocks, total allowable catches (TAC) must be introduced under the MAP with a clear recovery objective[11]. Only in doing so, Member States will be able to accomplish the objectives the EU has agreed to and signed up to[12]^,13 as a whole.

In order to make the Adriatic MAP a success and comply with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), we urge you to:

• Support an ambitious and science-based multiannual management plan.
• Introduce catch limits as the most effective management strategy for small pelagic stocks.
• Count all catches against the quotas in order to comply with the landing obligation (Art 15 of the CFP⁸).
• Include the ecosystem based approach to fisheries management by:
• providing incentives, such as fishing opportunities, to more selective fishing methods and low impact fisheries (Art. 7 of the CFP⁸);
• identifying and establishing fish stock recovery areas (Art. 8 of the CFP⁸).
• Applying spatial measures to tackle incidental catches of seabirds, marine mammals and reptiles until these can be replaced by technical solutions.
• Financially commit to trial the most appropriate suite of technical solutions for fishing gears to minimise incidental catches of seabirds, marine mammals and reptiles, while also identifying the overlap of susceptible sensitive species with fishing gear and fishing effort.
• Roll out a combination of scientifically tested technical solutions for longline fisheries, such as: tori lines, changes to line weights, hook shielding, and night-setting. The combinations should be determined on the basis of gear configurations and the susceptible species likely to be caught by fleets. Specification should comply with the minimum standards as set out in international agreed guidelines.
• Allocate fishing opportunities using transparent and objective criteria and distribute them fairly at national level between the various fleet segments prioritising low impact fisheries (Art.17 of the CFP).
• Strengthen monitoring, enforcement and control of fishing activities.
• Improve data collection in the Adriatic and other Mediterranean sea basins.

We call on you to seize this last opportunity to revert the dire situation in the Mediterranean Sea, prevent fish stocks from collapse, and recover all EU stocks by 2020 at the very latest, fulfilling this way the legally binding obligation set by the CFP[13]. It is your duty to ensure that Mediterranean fish stocks are recovered, for the present and the future generations.

Yours faithfully,

Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation

BirdLife TBC

ClientEarth TBC

Legambiente

MEDASSET-Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles

MedReAct

New Economics Foundation

Oceana

OceanCare

Seas at Risk TBC

Sunce- Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development

VIVAMAR- Society for the Sustainable Development for the Sea

WWF

[1] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council Consultation on the fishing opportunities for 2016 under the Common Fisheries Policy COM(2015) 239

[2] Seminar “State of Fish Stocks in European Waters” Sep. 2012 (https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/seminar-state-fish-stocks-european-waters_en)

[3] Seminar “State of Fish Stocks and Fisheries in European Waters” 2013 (https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/seminar-state-fish-stocks-and-fisheries-european-waters_en)

[4] Seminar “State of fish stocks and the economics of fishing fleets” 2014 (https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/seminar-state-fish-stocks-and-economics-fishing-fleets_en)

[5] Seminar “State of fish stocks and the economic performance of fishing fleets” 2015 (https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/seminar-state-fish-stocks-and-economic-performance-fishing-fleets_en)

[6] FAO, 2016. The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome, Italy. 152pp.

[7] Cardinale M and Scarcella G (2017) Mediterranean Sea: A Failure of the European Fisheries Management System. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:72. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00072

[8] COM(2017)0097 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks

[9] Reports of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – 51^st Plenary Meeting Report (PLEN-16-01). 2016. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, EUR 27758 EN, JRC 101442, 95pp.

[10] Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – Small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea. Mediterranean assessments part 1 (STECF-15-14). 2015. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, EUR 27492 EN, JRC 97707, 52 pp.

[11] Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – Small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea. Mediterranean assessments part 1 (STECF-15-14). 2015. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, EUR 27492 EN, JRC 97707, 52 pp.

[12] http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/131302_wssd_report_reissued.pdf

[13] Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC