General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean: amended Agreement

The Committee on Fisheries adopted the report by Gabriel MATO (EPP, ES) on the draft Council decision on the acceptance, on behalf of the European Union, of the amended Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).

The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the amended Agreement.

The GFCM is a so-called Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO), with the aim of promoting the development, conservation, rational management and best utilisation of living marine resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

An amendment of the GFCM Agreement was launched in 2013 following a performance review finalised in 2011. The Contracting Parties to the GFCM endorsed the amended Agreement at the GFCM 38 Annual Session on 19-24 May 2014.

The amended Agreement revises the structure and content of the current one, so as to bring it in line with modern RFMO instruments.