Tunas are some of the most important seafood species in the world. Tuna fisheries support livelihoods across oceans, provide a critical source of nutrition, and play a major role in global seafood supply chains. Sea Pact, a collaboration of North American mid-supply chain seafood companies advancing sustainability, recognizes this significance firsthand. In fact, when Sea Pact members were asked which wild species or commodity was most important to their individual businesses, the majority identified fresh and frozen tuna as number one, making tuna sustainability, responsibility, and traceability essential to Sea Pact’s efforts.
Sea Pact has a long history of supporting fishery improvement efforts across global fisheries through collaborations, supply chain engagement, and projects. As our members continue strengthening their commitments to responsible sourcing, it is clear that long-term sustainability depends on well-informed, resilient management systems and collective engagement. That is why Sea Pact supports advancing harvest strategies for tuna and engaging with the international bodies where tuna management decisions are made.
When it comes to maintaining sustainable fishery stock statuses, harvest strategies are one of the most effective and practical tools available to protect tuna fisheries over the long haul. They provide a science-based framework for how fisheries should respond and adapt in the face of change.
In practice, harvest strategies help deliver:
Despite their importance, the need for broader adoption of harvest strategies in tuna fisheries remains. Currently, 13 out of the 23 commercially important tuna stocks managed through Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) are still not regulated by a harvest strategy. RFMOs are international bodies composed of countries that have the responsibility of managing shared stocks of highly migratory species, like tuna. They set catch limits, adopt conservation measures, and determine whether tools like harvest strategies are implemented.
It is often the case that the market demand and expectations that drive fisheries develop faster than RFMO management changes can be implemented. Yet, RFMO discussions often lack consistent representation from the market end of the supply chain, including the retailers and suppliers that depend on tuna fisheries for long-term sourcing. Sea Pact believes markets have an important role to play in supporting timely, science-based management, and that effective RFMO engagement is built on consistent engagement and long-term trust and relationship building.
Starting in 2026, Sea Pact will be taking part in a new initiative, All Tunas 2028, to seek direct engagement with RFMO delegates with a focus on advancing harvest strategies and supporting stronger long-term management for priority tuna stocks.
Our approach will center on:
This work reflects Sea Pact’s broader commitment to ensuring that seafood markets are actively contributing to solutions that support the long-term sustainability of the fisheries our members depend on. Sea Pact recognizes that this kind of direct RFMO engagement represents a new approach for the organization, and we are actively working to align with other existing efforts such as harveststrategies.org, the Global Tuna Alliance, and the NGO Tuna Forum. We strongly believe that this work will only strengthen our collective goals. Our efforts will officially kick off with Nicole Condon, the Director, Brand & Social Impact for Oddisea SuperFrozen and Sea Pact Board Vice-Chair, speaking at the panel All Tuna 2028: Desserts and Discussion at the Seafood Expo North America next month in Boston. We hope you can join us!
Sea Pact and its members are excited to support this work by bringing market leadership into global fishery governance spaces and advocating for management systems that support responsible sourcing and a stable future for tuna fisheries.
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Nicole Condon is a leader in the seafood sustainability space with over two decades of multi-disciplinary experience at the intersection of industry, science, non-profits, and policy. After a decade in nonprofit management, Nicole transitioned to the private sector as the Director of Brand & Social Impact at Oddisea SuperFrozen where she is working to tackle human rights, environmental, and traceability challenges along the supply change, cementing Oddisea’s leadership at the forefront of responsible sourcing practices.
Sam Grimley serves as Executive Director of Sea Pact, a coalition of North American seafood companies working together to advance seafood sustainability through supply chain engagement and collective action. Sam has more than fifteen years of experience helping seafood buyers and industry partners improve sourcing and drive sustainability initiatives having previously worked for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
In January, fisheries managers and scientists from North Africa and the Near East, working with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), gathered in Alexandria, Egypt, for a regional capacity-building workshop on management procedures (MPs) and management strategy evaluation (MSE).
The three-day workshop combined expert presentations, interactive activities, and facilitated group discussions to build a shared understanding of MPs (also known as harvest strategies) and MSE as practical tools for science-based decision-making. The workshop strengthened dialogue between managers and scientists and across the region, enabling participants to engage in MP and MSE processes at regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and nationally.
Workshop Goals and Approach
As MPs gain traction at ICCAT and GFCM, effective development and implementation depend on both technical analyses and informed decision-making. This, in turn, requires managers and scientists to share a common understanding of objectives, trade-offs, uncertainty, and how their respective roles fit together throughout the MP and MSE processes.
Thus, the workshop moved beyond theory and focused on practical engagement with MPs and MSE. Plenary sessions established a shared conceptual foundation and fostered regional collaboration, while dedicated breakout sessions allowed managers and scientists to dive into their specific roles. Scientists’ breakout sessions emphasized technical foundations and workflows – providing hands-on experience working on MSE, including specifying operating models, designing candidate management procedures, and running simulations on case study data. Managers’ sessions introduced the full MP and MSE cycle from a decision-maker perspective – paying particular attention to interpreting MSE results, weighing trade-offs, and understanding implementation pathways.
Workshop Impact
For both managers and scientists, a central outcome of the workshop was greater clarity and confidence around MPs and MSE as tools for sustainable fisheries management. Prior to the workshop, some participants noted that MSE concepts felt difficult to navigate, including at RFMO meetings. By working through examples and visualizations and participating in group discussions, participants developed a clearer understanding of how MPs and MSE function in practice when it comes to real fisheries management.
Further, participants noted the workshop’s structure – plenary sessions with all participants as well as tailored breakout sessions for managers and scientists – was unique and highly beneficial. Unlike previous workshops where managers and scientists were separated for the whole time, this workshop format allowed each group to gain insight into the other’s work. This insight helped clarify their distinct yet complementary responsibilities and emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between science and management for effective development and implementation of MPs.
For managers, the workshop strengthened their ability to engage with and interpret technical MSE outputs from scientists, participate in discussions regarding trade-offs and uncertainty, and make informed decisions. They also valued the opportunity to share experiences with peers from across the Mediterranean, recognizing both similar challenges and potential for regional collaboration. Many noted they were leaving the workshop better prepared to contribute to ICCAT and GFCM discussions on MSE and MPs and communicate about MSE and MPs within their national institutions.
For scientists, hands-on exercises and interactive sessions provided practical experience with MSE workflows, visualization tools, and reproducible analyses, strengthening technical capacity to use MSE frameworks and develop MPs. Further, using case study data helped connect technical analysis to real-world scenarios. Scientists also improved their ability to communicate results to managers and stakeholders, as the joint sessions helped them understand managers’ perspectives and priorities.
Looking Ahead
Overall, the Alexandria workshop marked an important step towards increasing regional capacity for MPs and MSE in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and at ICCAT and GFCM. It fostered stronger regional connections, conceptual understanding, and technical skills, laying the groundwork for future collaboration and engagement in RFMO processes. Participants were eager to take their new knowledge and skills back home and apply them to fisheries nationally and regionally, as well as to continue participating in future capacity-building experiences. This ongoing capacity-building will be essential and is the aim of the new FAO eLearning Academy course on MPs and MSE, a free and self-paced educational tool to learn more about the concepts.
Thank you to the FAO Common Oceans Project, The Ocean Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, GFCM, Oceankind, and the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation for supporting the workshop.
More than 10 years ago at a meeting of a newly constituted regional fisheries management organization, countries with fisheries interests across the south Pacific Ocean came together to adopt a harvest control rule with a goal of rebuilding jack mackerel, a small pelagic fish that had become seriously depleted.
Fast forward to today, and members of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), after having successfully steered the rebuilding of the jack mackerel stock, have an opportunity to further embrace precautionary and science-based management across their diverse small pelagic, squid, and bottom fisheries.
On the agenda of the annual SPRFMO meeting beginning March 2nd in Panama City will be a recommendation from an independent panel of experts, commissioned by SPRFMO, to review the organization’s performance. Notably, that panel is recommending the adoption of a harvest strategy (also called management procedure, MP) approach for all SPRFMO fisheries.
“A well-defined harvest strategy provides a framework for consistent decision-making and the application of the precautionary approach across different fisheries,” the review panel wrote in its report. “This approach would help ensure that management measures are designed with clear objectives, supported by scientific evidence, and adaptable to changing conditions. This would provide a practical framework for decision-making and goal-setting for each fishery, ensuring that the precautionary approach is constantly applied.”
SPRFMO members should heed that recommendation, thereby aligning the RFMO with others that have made the strategic choice to embrace harvest strategies to provide greater predictability and stability and to ensure the sustainability of their fisheries.
SPRFMO, which includes 17 members, manages important stocks of small pelagic fishes, squid, and bottom fishes across the south Pacific Ocean. SPRFMO is already undertaking work in relation to harvest strategies, but its efforts would receive a boost through a more strategic approach:
For other fisheries, like orange roughy, and toothfish, a workplan could be developed to tailor workable MP approaches, given the varying levels of data, knowledge, and fishing intensity. The MP approach is not one-size fits all, and it can be applied differently depending on the resources available and priorities of the Commission.
In rebuilding jack mackerel, SPRFMO members have demonstrated that they can cooperate and make decisions with lasting benefits. Now is the time to build on the organization’s past to chart out a sustainable future through the wider endorsement of the harvest strategy approach.
(Photo by Richard Ling, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND-2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s (WCPFC) 2025 annual meeting wrapped last week in Manila with the successful adoption of a management procedure (MP), also known as a harvest strategy, for South Pacific albacore. The MP will manage the western and central Pacific (WCPO) longline and troll fisheries below the 10°S parallel, a huge win after many years of hard work on both the science and management sides. Catches of South Pacific albacore occurring between 10°S and the equator, approximately 12% of recent catches, will be managed under the bigeye tuna MP to be adopted next year (more detail below). While the South Pacific albacore stock is currently in a healthy state, the adopted, precautionary MP is an important step for the WCPFC as it will limit the risk of the stock falling into the danger zone in the future and ensure the long-term profitability of the fisheries targeting the stock.
Many WCPFC members have been advocating for an MP that maintains economic returns while ensuring stability for the fishery, as they have been concerned by a long-term decrease in fleets’ catch per unit effort (CPUE) that has decreased their economic viability. To address these concerns, the adopted MP will set a total allowable catch (TAC) for three-year management periods and limit the change in TAC between management periods to no more than 10 percent up or 5 percent down. In 2026, the MP will be run for the first time, setting the TAC for 2027-2029.
Looking forward to 2026, now that the South Pacific albacore MP has been adopted, the WCPFC plans to focus on developing strengthened controls on the water to ensure its implementation, as well as advancing MPs for other tuna species:
While the South Pacific albacore MP adoption was the major harvest strategy news for WCPFC in 2025, we hope 2026 will mark another pivotal year for sustainable tuna management in the region.
At its annual meeting last week, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) secured the first international harvest strategy adoption of 2025. They selected a harvest control rule (HCR) for blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea that had been tested with management strategy evaluation (MSE) and is expected to meet or exceed the Commission’s rebuilding objective. The seabream stock is critically depleted, at just 5% of its unfished level and well below the agreed limit reference point, so adoption of a long-term, science-based management plan is an important step forward.
The good news is that the most precautionary HCR was adopted (specifications in image), and it is projected to grow the stock above the limit reference point by 2030 with greater than 50% probability and achieve full recovery to the target level by 2045 with 91% probability. The bad news is that the two parties that fish the stock, Morocco and the European Union, could not agree to immediate implementation of the rule, accepting only a 56% reduction in catch for 2026 to 49.1 t rather than the 3.9 t limit dictated by the HCR. This phased-in HCR application may be ok, but it was not tested by the scientists, so it is likely that it will delay recovery and may risk the success of the measure. Still, adoption is a positive step, and the proper implementation will be reconsidered at the 2026 annual meeting. Once properly implemented, the HCR will represent GFCM’s first-ever rebuilding plan, a momentous step for a body where more than half of the assessed fish stocks are classified as overfished.
The blackspot seabream HCR joins the GFCM’s first two HCRs adopted last year for Adriatic sardines and anchovies, showing impressive progress in harvest strategy development. Those two stocks also provided GFCM with clear evidence about the utility of this approach, as the new catch limits for 2026 followed the outputs of the HCRs and were adopted with minimal discussion. An ambitious workplan aims to advance HCRs for an additional 11 stocks over the next 2 years, but only half of those intend to include thorough MSE testing in the initial development. The three HCRs adopted to date were developed using MSE, so the potential move away from this testing at GFCM is concerning. Untested HCRs cannot be reliably expected to achieve management objectives for the stock and fishery.
Red shrimp in the Ionian Sea and Strait of Sicily, in addition to dolphinfish, are prioritized for MSE testing in 2026. Rapa whelk in the Black Sea is also on the list, but given it’s an invasive species, the environmental benefits of an MSE-tested harvest strategy are a bit more opaque. If these 4 stocks are the focus for 2026, hopefully the other 7 stocks in the MSE workplan will benefit from more robust MSE testing in 2027-28.
With its first three HCRs adopted in just 13 months, GFCM has a lot to be proud of. Going forward, the body should continue to prioritize rigorous MSE testing since MSE is central to securing many of the benefits of the harvest strategy approach. Further, GFCM should evolve toward adoption of fully specified management procedures, which include not just an HCR but also the data collection and assessment methods used to drive the HCR. This ensures consistent application of the HCR and therefore greater confidence in the expected performance.
Esther Wozniak, a senior manager for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ international fisheries program, said:
“Blackspot seabream is severely depleted and in need of immediate action. Although GFCM members adopted a precautionary, science-based approach to recover the species, they postponed its implementation and set fishing limits for 2026 that are much too high, and are based on short-term motivations rather than their newly adopted rules. This decision will delay recovery of this important fishery and may complicate future steps to implement stronger catch limits.
For several species, GFCM members have a track record of allowing years of overfishing before reaching agreement to rebuild fisheries. This has recently begun to change, which is why the decision to delay implementation on blackspot seabream is disappointing. Only continued, cooperative efforts to implement harvest strategies can guarantee the future health of all of GFCM’s valuable and ecologically important species.”
In mid-October 2025, scientists from around the world gathered in Rome, Italy, for a three-day technical workshop on Global Blue Shark Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE). Hosted by The Ocean Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, with key support from the FAO Common Oceans Program, Oceankind, and the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the event aimed to build progress toward sustainable, adaptive management procedures (MPs) for highly valuable blue shark (Prionace glauca) stocks worldwide.
The case for MSE
Blue sharks are the most commonly landed shark species in international waters and a key target for numerous fisheries, with worldwide blue shark landings estimated to be worth more than $400 million USD. However, their current management relies on stock assessments that are often hindered by data limitations and other uncertainties. Developing and implementing MSE-tested management procedures (MPs), also known as harvest strategies, that are robust to key uncertainties is therefore an important step towards ensuring responsible and adaptive management of these stocks.
The workshop on Global Blue Shark MSE was attended by leading experts in MSE and blue shark science, representing all four regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) that manage fisheries that catch the species: the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). The workshop was timely, as both ICCAT and IOTC have begun initiatives to develop MSE-tested MPs for their respective blue shark stocks.
Setting the stage: common ground and shared challenges
The workshop kicked off with welcoming remarks from Grantly Galland (The Pew Charitable Trusts), Shana Miller (The Ocean Foundation), and Joe Zelasney (FAO), who set an inspiring tone and outlined the goals for the days ahead. First up on the agenda were regional overviews of current blue shark science and management efforts in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, provided by leading scientists from each basin. These discussions highlighted that, across regions, existing stock assessments for blue shark are often hindered by data-poor conditions and significant uncertainties (e.g., conflicting CPUE indices and unreliability in historical catch data).
With these challenges in mind, as the day progressed, the group discussed the utility and feasibility of implementing an MSE approach for blue shark management. Presentations reviewed preliminary MSE work for blue shark conducted to date at ICCAT for the North Atlantic stock and highlighted the IOTC’s request to initiate blue shark MSE efforts. Participants discussed key considerations when developing operating models (OMs) to support potential MSE efforts, including regional uncertainties that should be represented across the suite of OMs. They also touched on the types of MPs that might be most appropriate for addressing the unique management challenges and population dynamics of these widely distributed sharks, which are often co-caught with other target species. Conversations stressed the importance of involving managers and stakeholders early in MSE processes to increase transparency, collaboration, and shared motivation for the eventual adoption of an MP.
Getting hands-on
Day Two initiated dedicated, highly technical hands-on sessions. The day began with a guided demonstration of the openMSE software framework, an open-source modeling tool widely used in RFMO MSE efforts, by its creators at Blue Matter Science. Experts from Blue Matter Science guided workshop participants through the entire MSE process using openMSE, from building OMs and defining performance indicators (PIs) to designing candidate MPs and evaluating their ability to achieve management objectives via the MSE feedback loop. This demonstration provided the foundation for group breakout sessions, where participants were organized based on their region of expertise. Breakout groups worked with real data from five blue shark stocks (North/South Pacific, North/South Atlantic, Indian Ocean) to create preliminary OMs, craft custom PIs, and explore hypothetical candidate MPs using the openMSE framework.
The final day of the workshop included a presentation on standard visualization tools for presenting MSE outcomes, featuring a demonstration of the Slick app for producing figures such as timeseries and tradeoff plots to convey candidate MP performance. Regional breakout groups then reconvened to finalize their modeling efforts and create Slick objects to visualize their work. The workshop culminated in final breakout group presentations, where each region showcased their products from the last two days, including their thought processes when developing hypothetical OMs and candidate MPs for blue sharks. Groups also offered suggestions and reviewed the procedural steps that would be required for progressing these efforts at their respective RFMOs. Comprehensive modeling work and summary presentations were completed for all five global blue shark stocks.
Building blocks towards sustainable management
This workshop offered a rare and invaluable opportunity to bring together experts from across ocean basins, providing a venue to discuss shared knowledge and challenges related to effective blue shark management. While only ICCAT and IOTC have committed to date to pursuing MSE-tested MPs for blue sharks, the preliminary technical work conducted last month in Rome has laid important groundwork for all stocks across all RFMOs. This progress toward the development and adoption of sustainable management procedures marks a key milestone for the long-term sustainability of this ecologically important species around the world.
For even more information, the FAO published a news story on the workshop, and a full workshop report will be available in the coming months.
The 2024 Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting marked notable advancements in fisheries management. For the first time, a billfish species in the Pacific will undergo a management strategy evaluation (MSE). WCPFC agreed to develop an MSE framework for south Pacific swordfish starting in 2025, setting the stage for designing a future management procedure (MP) for the stock.
Another milestone was support for a joint pan-Pacific working group with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) on south Pacific albacore tuna. This group would aim to enhance stock management and monitoring while supporting WCPFC’s development of an MP. Its success now hinges on IATTC’s endorsement at its 2025 annual meeting. Additionally, progress was made on bigeye tuna, with the adoption of three candidate target reference points (TRPs) for evaluation in MSE. These TRPs provide critical flexibility for aligning multi-species targets. On skipjack tuna, a monitoring plan for the existing MP was successfully adopted, bolstering ongoing management.
Despite these gains, efforts to establish a south Pacific albacore MP faltered. This setback spurred industry warnings about potential Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification suspensions if an agreement isn’t reached in 2025. An intersessional working group has been scheduled for next year.
With steps forward on swordfish, albacore, bigeye, and skipjack, the WCPFC must maintain momentum by scheduling intersessional meetings and resolving outstanding challenges to secure critical agreements in 2025 and beyond.
Banner image: A swordfish captured in an offshore longline. Image courtesy of Andre Seale / Marine Photobank.
The ICCAT annual meeting wrapped up on Monday in Limassol, Cyprus. Management procedures (MPs) were the big winners of the meeting, with progress made on eight different stocks. This remarkable advancement affirmed ICCAT’s commitment to transitioning its management to MPs as a more science-based and transparent approach to achieving long-term sustainability for its $5.4 billion fisheries.
North Atlantic Swordfish: A Landmark Success
An MP was adopted for North Atlantic swordfish, marking ICCAT’s first MP for a non-tuna species. Twenty-five years ago, there was a boycott of North Atlantic swordfish, given its dire status. Today, the stock is fully recovered, and the new MP will lock in this abundance and ensure a vibrant fishery for years to come. The MP was also evaluated to ensure that it can be responsive to any negative impacts of climate change on swordfish abundance, ensuring a sustainable system even in a changing ocean.
The northern swordfish catch limit will increase by 12% next year, the first catch increase for swordfish since 2002. Importantly, the adopted MP is called “MCC,” which stands for “Mostly Constant Catch,” as it is designed to secure long-term stability in the fishery, which is good for business, both on fishing vessels and in seafood markets.
West Atlantic Skipjack: Significant Progress Despite Delay
While we had hoped an MP would be adopted for West Atlantic skipjack, ICCAT members decided that they needed a bit more information before selecting a specific MP. They, therefore, stopped just short of MP adoption, finalizing operational management objectives and giving clear guidance on how to put the finishing touches on the management strategy evaluation (MSE), the results of which will determine the MP to be adopted next November. This still remarks tremendous progress and is cause for celebration.
Forward Momentum for Other Important Stocks
ICCAT also agreed to interim management objectives for the other three tropical tunas – bigeye, yellowfin, and East Atlantic skipjack. The new measure contains important information to guide and reinvigorate the multispecies MSE underway for those stocks, calling for MP adoption in 2026. We note that the 50% probability of having each of the stocks not overfished and not subject to overfishing is a minimum standard for MP development, and we will work with ICCAT members to ensure that the likelihood is raised to at least 60% for the final MP. A coin flip’s chance of success is insufficient, especially given the number of livelihoods and coastal communities that depend on these stocks.
South Atlantic albacore and North and South Atlantic blue sharks round out the list of MP actions, with objectives agreed upon for the former and all three stocks added to ICCAT’s MSE workplan.
Charting a Sustainable Future
The outcomes of the Cyprus meeting reaffirm ICCAT’s leadership in global fisheries management. By adopting a new MP and providing guidance on MP development for 7 other stocks, ICCAT is charting a path toward more sustainable and resilient big fish fisheries. The Commission is well-positioned to secure the long-term health of these key resources and the communities that depend on them. The coming year will be pivotal as these initiatives take shape, and we at www.HarvestStrategies.org look forward to continuing to engage as a stakeholder in the process.
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) made history last week by adopting harvest control rules for Adriatic sardines and anchovies, the first for this organization. Until now, the only international harvest strategy in the Mediterranean was the Atlantic bluefin tuna management procedure adopted by ICCAT.
Grantly Galland, a project director for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ international fisheries program, said:
“Sardines and anchovies in the Adriatic Sea are the first beneficiaries of a move to sustainable, science-based harvest strategies in the region. This week, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) adopted these new rules, which should prevent overfishing of these valuable fish populations. Given that over half the species managed by the Commission are overfished, this is an encouraging step, and the commitment to more harvest strategies in the future will help rebuild and maintain fisheries’ health over time.”
Pre-Agreed Catch Limits for Sardines
The first of the two harvest strategies applies to Adriatic sardines, a species critical to the region’s fishing industry and ecosystem. Under the new rule, pre-agreed catch limits will replace the need for annual quota negotiations. This state-of-the-art management approach aligns fishing activity with the boom and bust of sardine populations, helping to maintain a stable fishery that can be sustained over time. By reducing the uncertainty of year-to-year negotiations, GFCM is helping prevent overfishing and ensuring a more consistent supply, benefiting both fish populations and the fishers who rely on them.
Anchovy-Specific Harvest Strategy
In parallel, GFCM has also implemented a harvest strategy tailored explicitly for anchovies. This pre-set catch limit will similarly protect anchovy populations from the pressures of overfishing, ensuring that catch levels remain within sustainable bounds. Anchovies, like sardines, are an essential species both ecologically and economically for the region, and this modern management approach provides the framework needed to support their recovery and long-term health. By putting science at the forefront of decision-making, GFCM is paving the way for resilient fishery management that secures the future of anchovy stocks in the Adriatic.
A Positive Step for the Future of the Mediterranean
Sardines and anchovies in the Adriatic are now at the forefront of sustainable fisheries management, setting a new standard for GFCM’s commitment to implementing harvest strategies across the Mediterranean. These newly adopted HCRs mark a significant advance but will require additional agreements on data inputs and assessment methods to evolve into a fully operational and robust harvest strategy. There’s still work to be done, and these initial steps are expected to spark a ripple effect that benefits both biodiversity and the fishing economy in the region.
With these measures, the GFCM demonstrates its dedication to science-based fisheries management, inspiring similar actions in other Mediterranean fisheries. Blackspot seabream is next on the list for GFCM’s harvest strategy development, showing that this progress for sardines and anchovies is just the beginning. By adopting these HCRs, the commission is paving a path to restore the Adriatic’s marine ecosystem and secure a resilient future for this vital fishing region.