bureaucratic management following a top-down government mainly focused on
blocking fishermen’s incentives to maximize capture.
1
GFCM aims at ensuring the conservation and sustainable use, at the biological,
social, economic, and environmental level, of living marine resources, as well as the
sustainable development of aquaculture in all the marine zones of the Mediterranean
Sea and the Black Sea (Art. 2.2 and 3.1, GFCM Agreement). GFCM focuses on
non-tuna species as ICCAT covers them. GFCM provides scientific advice and a
framework for the management of Alboran Sea fisheries like small pelagic species,
demersal species, and especially sensible fish stocks like blackspot seabream mainly
located in the Strait of Gibraltar area (GFCM GSA 1 (Northern Alboran Sea), GSA
2 (Alboran Island), and GSA 3 (Southern Alboran Sea) geographical areas).
GFCM provides recommendations that focus on conservation and management,
monitoring, control and surveillance, and data and information reporting. These
recommendations are into force 4 months after the date of notification by the
GFCM (Article 13.3 of the GFCM Agreement). Contracting parties, particularly
the EU, can object to measures adopted within this period. These measures do not
bound EU in this case. The other contracting parties are not obliged to implement the
contested measure where more than one-third of the contracting parties submit an
objection.
Management measures recommendations mainly concern fishing capacity and
effort restrictions when specified. Some examples of fishing capacity and effort
restrictions are fishing gear restrictions (recommendations GFCM/33/2009/2 or
GFCM/22/1997/1), technical measures (recommendations GFCM/40/2016/5 or
GFCM/27/2002/1) or area closures like prohibiting the use of towed dredges and
trawl nets at depths beyond 1000 m (recommendation GFCM/29/2005/1). GFCM
also recommends some other measures to protect ecosystems like preventing
bycatch or the creation of fisheries-restricted areas (recommendations GFCM/35/
2011/4 or GFCM/41/2017/3).
GFCM has a mandate in progress to develop a management program of the
fishing effort concerning demersal trawling fisheries and pelagic trawling and
purse seining in Northern and Southern Alboran Sea (GSA 1 and GSA 3) among
other fishing areas and a regional plan of action controlling fishing capacity (recommendations GFCM/30/2006/1 and GFCM/34/2010/2).
GFCM also adopted some provisional measures (two-year period) in 2017 until a
management plan for blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea is set in order to
monitor fishing capacity of this fishery given that it is overfished and overexploited.
Large marine ecosystem mechanism set in the Mediterranean Sea, and consequently in the Alboran Sea, implements the Strategic Action Programme for the
Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean region (SAP-BIO) and
the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea (SAP-MED) in a
1 It is worth noting that state parties can eventually apply measures that are more restrictive in any
case and opt for a comprehensive individual fishing quota program.
754
J. J. García-del-Hoyo and D. Castilla-Espino
blocking fishermen’s incentives to maximize capture.
1
GFCM aims at ensuring the conservation and sustainable use, at the biological,
social, economic, and environmental level, of living marine resources, as well as the
sustainable development of aquaculture in all the marine zones of the Mediterranean
Sea and the Black Sea (Art. 2.2 and 3.1, GFCM Agreement). GFCM focuses on
non-tuna species as ICCAT covers them. GFCM provides scientific advice and a
framework for the management of Alboran Sea fisheries like small pelagic species,
demersal species, and especially sensible fish stocks like blackspot seabream mainly
located in the Strait of Gibraltar area (GFCM GSA 1 (Northern Alboran Sea), GSA
2 (Alboran Island), and GSA 3 (Southern Alboran Sea) geographical areas).
GFCM provides recommendations that focus on conservation and management,
monitoring, control and surveillance, and data and information reporting. These
recommendations are into force 4 months after the date of notification by the
GFCM (Article 13.3 of the GFCM Agreement). Contracting parties, particularly
the EU, can object to measures adopted within this period. These measures do not
bound EU in this case. The other contracting parties are not obliged to implement the
contested measure where more than one-third of the contracting parties submit an
objection.
Management measures recommendations mainly concern fishing capacity and
effort restrictions when specified. Some examples of fishing capacity and effort
restrictions are fishing gear restrictions (recommendations GFCM/33/2009/2 or
GFCM/22/1997/1), technical measures (recommendations GFCM/40/2016/5 or
GFCM/27/2002/1) or area closures like prohibiting the use of towed dredges and
trawl nets at depths beyond 1000 m (recommendation GFCM/29/2005/1). GFCM
also recommends some other measures to protect ecosystems like preventing
bycatch or the creation of fisheries-restricted areas (recommendations GFCM/35/
2011/4 or GFCM/41/2017/3).
GFCM has a mandate in progress to develop a management program of the
fishing effort concerning demersal trawling fisheries and pelagic trawling and
purse seining in Northern and Southern Alboran Sea (GSA 1 and GSA 3) among
other fishing areas and a regional plan of action controlling fishing capacity (recommendations GFCM/30/2006/1 and GFCM/34/2010/2).
GFCM also adopted some provisional measures (two-year period) in 2017 until a
management plan for blackspot seabream in the Alboran Sea is set in order to
monitor fishing capacity of this fishery given that it is overfished and overexploited.
Large marine ecosystem mechanism set in the Mediterranean Sea, and consequently in the Alboran Sea, implements the Strategic Action Programme for the
Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean region (SAP-BIO) and
the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea (SAP-MED) in a
1 It is worth noting that state parties can eventually apply measures that are more restrictive in any
case and opt for a comprehensive individual fishing quota program.
754
J. J. García-del-Hoyo and D. Castilla-Espino