Recreational fisheries are defined as “non-commercial fishing activity exploiting marine living resources for recreation, tourism or sport”. They are an integral part of Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal life and represent a significant economic component of coastal tourism, one of the main maritime sectors in terms of gross value added and employment.

However, proper consideration of recreational fisheries in policy-making has, to date, been held back by a lack of regular and reliable data on catch, effort and socioeconomics. Given that recreational fisheries account for a share of fishing mortality, there is a need for improved knowledge on the sector, and to include its catch data in stock assessments in order to support the sustainable management of fisheries. +info

Piked dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is one of the GFCM priority species driving the Black Sea marine ecosystem (GSA 29). This highly migratory, long-living shark is very susceptible to overfishing because of their slow growth rates.  +info

Two large non-indigenous species of blue crab (the American blue crab, [Callinectes sapidus] and the blue swimming crab, [Portunus segnis]) have been present in the Mediterranean since at least the first half of the 20th century.

To deal with population expansions and the subsequent emergence of fisheries of these two crab species, the GFCM issued Recommendation GFCM/42/2018/7 on the implementation of a regional research programme on blue crab in the Mediterranean Sea. +info

Common dolphinfish, or mahi-mahi (in Hawaiian), is a large pelagic and highly migratory species globally distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Since ancient times, this species has been a fishing resource mainly targeted by small-scale fisheries taking advantage of their behavior of sheltering beneath floating objects. 

In the Western and Central Mediterranean, four main coastal countries are involved in the dolphinfish fishery: Italy, Spain (only Balearic Islands archipelago), Tunisia and Malta, where this species has social and economic importance. +info

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a migratory species with a unique life cycle. Between their spawning phase and their pre-reproductive stage, European eel migrate from the Northwest Atlantic to the coasts of their distribution range and continental waters.

European eels are declining globally due to a combination of natural causes and anthropogenic pressures impacting it and its habitats at different life stages. +info

The rapa whelk is a non-indigenous species originating from the western Pacific, first observed in the Black Sea in 1947. Since then, the population of this gastropod has become established and expanded greatly, representing a significant revenue source for Black Sea countries, particularly for small-scale fishers.

Exported in large quantities to its native east Asia, the rapa whelk is currently fished close to its maximum sustainable limit – and in 2021 it was found to be in possible overexploitation. +info

Red coral (Corallium rubrum) has experienced a decrease in landings in the Mediterranean over the past 20 years, and in some areas its shallow populations are nearly depleted.  

In order to fill important knowledge gaps on the status of this species in the region, the implementation of a Mediterranean research programme on red coral was established under Recommendation GFCM/41/2017/5 on the establishment of a regional adaptive management plan for the exploitation of red coral in the Mediterranean Sea. +info

Acknowledging the growing prevalence of non-indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean Sea, the forty-fifth session of the GFCM agreed, in 2022, to launch a pilot study on NIS in the eastern subregion towards developing a model to be exported to other subregions. It also agreed to create a Mediterranean-wide NIS observatory with the objective of fostering regional discussions on best practices for the management of NIS.

The primary objective of the pilot study is to contribute to the identification of future management strategies that can be implemented swiftly and adaptively, with a focus on generating key scientific information to support the overall management of NIS through, inter alia, their exploitation, commercialization and valorization, and to understand the impacts of NIS on native species, ecosystems and fisheries.  +info