Source: European Parliament
1. The Commission is investing significant resources in support of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) 2030 Strategy. The EU voluntary contribution to GFCM, through the EU Grant, has been and will remain instrumental for the implementation of the GFCM management and control measures, the protection of vulnerable species and habitats and the implementation of the subregional approach of the 2030 Strategy.
2. Under EU leadership, the GFCM has launched a consolidation process of the overall compliance framework, notably the international inspection schemes, under the umbrella of the Compliance Committee, aimed to ensure full implementation of existing management and control measures, transparency and level playing field, based on the examples of good practices from other regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs). All these objectives are supported by concrete actions in the GFCM work programme for the next years, to be adopted at the annual session.
3. The Commission aims at promoting the EU fisheries control standards and best practices at the level of the GFCM, including for the modernisation of control tools and implementation of new technologies by all contracting parties. To this end, in May 2024, the EU presented in the Compliance Committee the new EU requirements for the control of small-scale fisheries. The Commission will continue promoting the future uptake in the GFCM framework of innovative digital solutions, including for reporting catches and geo-localisation of fishing vessels.