Brussels: europe and arabs 

The Commission adopted its proposal for fishing opportunities for 2023 for the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. The proposal promotes the sustainable management of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas and delivers on the political commitments made in the MedFish4Ever and Sofia Declarations. It reflects the Commission's ambition to make fisheries in these two sea basins sustainable, in line with the 2030 Strategy of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), which is the regional fisheries management organisation competent for the conservation and management of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. 
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “With this proposal we pursue our ambitious objective to reach sustainably managed fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, in line with scientific advice. We must continue building on the positive trends of recent years and undertake more efforts to ensure stocks recovery for the benefit of local communities.” 

The Commission proposes to use the same tools introduced in the 2022 fishing opportunities based on the latest scientific advice, e.g. fishing effort for trawlers and longliners as well as catch limits for deep-water shrimps. These measures were established under the Western Mediterranean multiannual management plan (MAP) for demersal stocks, with the aim of reaching the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) - the maximum amount of fish that fishers can take out of the sea without compromising the regeneration and future productivity of the stock - by 1 January 2025 at the latest.  

In the Mediterranean Sea, the proposal incorporates measures for red coral and dolphinfish, in line with adopted GFCM decisions. For the stocks where the GFCM transitional measures are expiring at the end of 2022 (such as blackspot seabream and deep-water shrimp stocks in the Ionian, the Levant Seas and the Strait of Sicily), the proposal will be updated after the 2022 GFCM annual session, where new decisions are expected to be adopted.