EU and Mediterranean neighbours commit to new declaration to rebuild fish stocks

EU and Mediterranean countries today committed to continue their cooperation to rebuild Mediterranean fish stocks, agreeing to adopt a new MedFish4Ever Declaration in 2027.

The new declaration will set an ambitious course for the next decade of action on Mediterranean fisheries and aquaculture, building on the cooperation framework established in 2017. The commitment was taken at the high-level Ministerial Conference held today in Nicosia, co-organised by the European Commission and the Republic of Cyprus.

A decade of progress, but the urgency to act persists

Since the original declaration was signed in 2017, half of Mediterranean fish stocks have started to recover. Where science-based management has been applied, results are tangible: in the Adriatic, demersal stocks such as hake have reached Maximum Sustainable Yield for the first time. Fisheries restricted areas deliver positive spillover effects and selective fishing gear is reducing bycatch. Sustainable aquaculture is contributing to food security.

Yet, over half of assessed stocks remain overfished. Illegal fishing and fleet overcapacity continue to undermine the sector, climate change is accelerating pressures, and small-scale fishing communities face economic hardships, as young people turn away from the profession.

A unified approach for the next decade

Participants identified five priority avenues to underpin the next declaration:

• Stronger governance: enforcing measures, combating illegal fishing and reducing fleet overcapacity.
• Science-led recovery: expanding management plans and protected areas and partnering with fishers in research.
• A fair transition: targeted support for small-scale fishers, generational renewal and gender equality.
• Climate resilience: adapting fisheries and aquaculture management and turning challenges such as non-indigenous species into opportunities.
• Solidarity and partnership: collective action anchored in a modernised General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).

Background

The MedFish4Ever Declaration, signed in March 2017 by 16 Mediterranean countries and the European Commission, set a ten-year vision for the sustainability of the region's fisheries and aquaculture sector. Today's Ministerial Conference takes stock of progress and gathers political guidance for the next declaration, to be adopted in 2027.

More information

MedFish4Ever Declaration from 2017