Countries miss crucial opportunity to protect deep sea life from destructive fisheries in the Mediterranean

Málaga/Brussels, 10 November 2025 – While Mediterranean countries have missed a crucial opportunity to extend deep-sea protection from destructive fisheries at the annual meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), MEDREACT welcomed the GFCM decision to enhance the implementation of the demersal Multiannual Plan (MAP) in the Adriatic Sea with an additional set of ambitious management and conservation measures, proposed by the EU, Albania and Montenegro.(1)

“The Adriatic demersal MAP has proven that the combination of well-designed and enforced spatial measures with fishing effort reduction can reverse overexploitation trends, and support the recovery of depleted stocks and sensitive species”, said Domitilla Senni, executive director at MedReAct. 

“This is particularly relevant in a sub-region that showed one of the highest intensity of  fishing effort by bottom trawling across the globe, and it should be taken as an example for other Mediterranean MAPs that are still struggling in their transition to sustainable fisheries.”

However, MedReAct regrets that the GFCM failed to act to extend deep-sea protection at large, as GFCM regional pilot studies have demonstrated the ecological benefits of extending the current ban on bottom trawling below 1000 m depth, and the minimum costs for fishers. This setback also jeopardizes a prior 2023 GFCM commitment to expand deep-water protection in 2025.

The EU has been the driving force within the GFCM, supporting the launch of pilot studies to assess the impacts of extending the deep-sea trawl ban. The GFCM’s failure to act is at odds with  international commitments - under the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the GFCM Mediterranean 2030 Strategy - to designate additional Fisheries Restricted Areas so as to protect fish populations and sensitive habitats, and to address the impacts of destructive fishing methods. Extending deep-sea protection would help recover overfished stocks, like deep-sea shrimps, protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, and enhance the climate resilience of the Mediterranean, as deep-sea habitats play a crucial role in storing carbon and regulating our climate.(2)

Domitilla Senni said: “The state of the Mediterranean Sea is declining at an alarming rate. Yet countries continue to tolerate the impact of destructive fisheries on vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. The path to sustainable fisheries requires urgent and bold long-term measures delivering tangible benefits for marine species and ecosystems, and the transition to low-impact fisheries. Extending deep-sea protection will help recover fish populations and habitats, and will be a concrete step towards a better future for those communities that rely on a healthy sea for their livelihood.”

Recent pilot projects conducted under the GFCM in six countries - Egypt, France, Greece, Malta, Spain and Tunisia - have demonstrated that extending the deep-sea bottom trawling ban from 1000 m to 800 m would deliver significant benefits in terms of protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems, like corals and sponges, with limited or no costs for  fisheries. Further, the GFCM Scientific Advisory Committee concluded that extending the ban to this depth would contribute to fish stock recovery and the conservation of vulnerable species and habitats.

In October, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) adopted two motions to protect deep-sea vulnerable marine ecosystems from destructive fishing. Failure to extend Mediterranean deep-sea protection risks undermining scientific progress towards protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems and would delay critical conservation measures. 

As climate change drives marine species towards deeper waters, improved technology has progressively allowed fleets to also fish deeper. This trend is visible in the Mediterranean Sea, including by non-EU fishing fleets. MedReact therefore urges the EU and the GFCM  to adopt a precautionary approach by extending deep-sea protection to preserve these crucial areas of rich sea life and the fishers who depend on them.

Notes to editors:

1. These measures include: 1)  Increasing protection of  the Jabuka/ Pomo Pit FRA, by reducing fishing effort in the buffer areas to 1 day a week for nine months, while for the remaining 3 months fishing will not be allowed. 2) introducing new fishing closures to protect essential habitats for  Norway lobsters, 3) reduction of fishing effort by bottom trawlers by 9.5% in the whole Adriatic.
2. Deep-sea species and habitats are long-lived and slow to reproduce, making them very vulnerable to fishing impacts. Destructive fishing practices, like bottom trawling, can destroy them in a single pass. Other commercially important fish, like hake and blue and red shrimp, rely on deep-sea habitats as shelter and nursery areas. 

Contacts

Luisa Colasimone, MedReAct Senior Communications Advisor; lglcolasimone@gmail.com; + 32 479 100 067