The Highs, Lows, and Next Steps for Sustainable Fisheries Management in the Mediterranean

9 novembre 2026

AuthorHeather Luedke
Senior Program Associate

Last week, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) had the opportunity to make big strides in long-term sustainable fisheries management at their annual meeting in Rome, via the adoption and implementation of management strategy evaluation-tested harvest control rules (HCRs). For the most part, GFCM seized that opportunity and made important progress, but there is still much more that needs to be done.

First, the highlights:

The Commission successfully adopted and implemented two MSE-tested HCRs: for European hake in the Strait of Sicily and giant red shrimp in the Ionian Sea! The giant red shrimp fishery is the world’s first international, invertebrate fishery with a harvest strategy. The implementation of these HCRs will help maintain long-term sustainability of two of the Mediterranean’s most valuable and culturally significant species. However,

The MSE-tested HCR for anchovy in the Adriatic Sea that was adopted in 2024 continues to be implemented, with a 10% decrease in total allowable catch (TAC) from 2026 to 2027 in line with recommendation GFCM/44/2021/20. The stock remains in sustainable exploitation.

While not MSE-tested, the Commission also successfully adopted the standard GFCM HCR (a pre-defined HCR that serves as a default for providing catch or effort advice, in conjunction with short-term forecasts rather than MSE testing) for three stocks: deep-water rose shrimp and giant red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily, and common dolphinfish. They also adopted a data limited approach for setting catch limits for two stocks: blue and red shrimp in the Strait of Sicily and the Ionian Sea.

The Commission also continued to include HCRs in their plans for future work. Next year, that work includes developing an MSE-tested HCR for piked dogfish in the Black Sea, data-limited approaches for two deep-water red shrimp stocks in the Eastern Mediterranean, and an MSE-tested effort allocation formula for demersal stocks in the Adriatic Sea.

Second, the lowlights: 

The Commission failed to fully implement the MSE-tested HCR for blackspot seabream that was adopted in 2025. This highly important stock is overfished with no signs of recovery, despite additional remedial measures in place since 2024. Implementing the 4.21t catch limit from the HCR would have supported the stock’s regrowth, but politics got in the way. Instead, the 2027 TAC was reduced by 75%, and the number of hooks reduced by 50%, from 2026, leading to a TAC of 12.23t. While this is a step in the right direction, the Commission will need to fully implement the HCR next year.

The TAC set for sardine in the Adriatic Sea in 2027 is no longer in line with the HCR adopted in 2024. The stock has declined sharply and has fallen below its biomass limit reference point. The HCR’s TAC for 2027 would have been 14,933t, but the Commission set the TAC at 25,139t, a nearly 70% excess. While this was still a 38% decrease from the 2026 TAC, the Commission failed to implement the pre-agreed approach that would have helped the stock recover due to political negotiations. The Commission argued that HCRs are merely used as “guiding principles” for setting annual catch limits for Adriatic pelagic stocks.

Using HCRs as the starting point for setting annual limits but not directly implementing their outputs is highly problematic. An HCR is developed and tested in advance in order to provide a pre-agreed, science-based response to changes in stock health. Allowing political negotiations to override HCR outputs undermines their purpose and risks further stock declines or delayed recovery. Adopting MPs and HCRs is often likened to agreeing to the rules before we play the game; it’s imperative to also stick to those rules, whether they call for increasing or decreasing fishing.

Lastly, looking ahead:

The Commission has made significant progress in advancing sustainable long-term management for several fish stocks this year, but there is still work to be done to ensure these approaches deliver their intended benefits.

The Commission must consistently implement already-adopted HCRs, rather than treating them as optional guidance or starting points for annual negotiations. They will only perform as expected to achieve the agreed management objectives if they are fully implemented.

At the same time, transitioning existing HCRs to fully specified management procedures (MPs; which also define the data collection program and estimation method used to determine stock status) should be prioritized. Transitioning HCRs to fully specified MPs should be relatively simple, as a data collection program and an estimation method were already assumed during the MSE testing of the HCRs. Adopting full MPs, as done in other regional fisheries management organizations, ensures consistent and predictable implementation.

Relatedly, GFCM has not yet adopted a rule tested in a best-practice, full-feedback loop MSE. The stocks with adopted MSE-tested HCRs have utilized a shortcut approach that simplifies the estimation step of the MP, and the GFCM standard HCRs have not been MSE-tested at all. The extra effort to move these shortcut MSEs to full MSEs pays off in more reliable and informative results and is well worth the investment.

Moving towards full-feedback loop MSEs and fully specified MPs for all stocks will maximize the likelihood of successfully achieving management objectives.

Finally, the Commission should continue expanding MSE-based management to additional priority stocks, building on the progress made this year and the work already planned for 2027.

In conclusion…

The Commission did make significant progress in advancing sustainable long-term management for several fish stocks this year, and we are hopeful that this momentum will continue into 2027 and beyond. There is much to be done, and we look forward to supporting the Commission’s commendable efforts on MSE, HCRs, and fully specified MPs.

For more details on GFCM’s work on HCRs, MSE, and MPs, check out our latest factsheet.