Mediterranean & Black Sea Region

Regional Coordinator: Linette Ancha

The Mediterranean/Black Sea Region spans 22 countries, 3 continents and 2 major water  basins.  This region corresponds to FAO Fishing Area 37.  The diversity of fisheries, bycatch issues and development within this region is extreme.  This mixture results in a patchwork of fisheries and bycatch assessments; from areas where there are none to areas with fully developed fisheries and bycatch assessments as well as bycatch mitigation projects. There are numerous organizations that track fishering activity in the Mediterranean, including the European Commission - Fisheries, the FAO's General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), and the FAO’s COPEMED Project.

Fisheries are an important component of the Mediterranean economy and include nearly all fishing gear types. There are both industrial and artisanal vessels. The most prevalent gear types deployed in the Mediterranean include longlines, trawl, and gillnets, however extensive artisanal fishing with other gear types may incur bycatch as well.

In addition to concerns about declining target catch, there are also concerns regarding the level of bycatch from the various fisheries. Species of concern include loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles in longline, gillnet and trawl fisheries; Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) and Andouin’s gull (Larus audouinni) in longline fisheries; and  Black sea common dolphins (Delphinus delphis ponticus), Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) and Black Sea Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena relicta) are known to be caught incidentally and killed by gillnet and pelagic trawls.