The fishing effort regime in the Western Mediterranean Sea

The briefing highlights the failure of EU Member States to reach target fishing mortality by January 2025 under the Western Mediterranean multiannual plan (West Med MAP). It criticizes the lack of transparency in the 'compensation mechanism' used to reclaim fishing days and calls for robust actions, including strengthened fishing mortality reductions, safeguard measures for critically depleted stocks, and enhanced selectivity and control systems.

• EU Member States failed to meet the legal obligation to reach sustainable fishing mortality rates by the January 2025 deadline established in the western Mediterranean multiannual plan (West Med MAP).
• Although fishing days were reduced by 40% between 2020 and 2024, the effectiveness of these reductions is undermined by a 'compensation mechanism' that lacks transparency and allows Member States to reclaim fishing days.
• The final agreement on 2025 fishing opportunities was weakened because Member States were permitted to recover up to 100% of reduced fishing days via the compensation mechanism, failing to meaningfully reduce fishing mortality.
• The West Med MAP manages 22 stocks of six critical demersal species, including European hake, Norway lobster, red mullet, and various shrimp species (blue, red, deep-water rose, and giant red), with the goal of maintaining populations above Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels.
• There is a critical need to increase the minimum conservation reference size for European hake, as the species typically reaches maturity around 33 cm.

APA

ClientEarth (2025). The fishing effort regime in the Western Mediterranean Sea. https://www.clientearth.org/media/xwrlcsqc/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-7-the-fishing-effort-regime-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The fishing effort regime in the Western Mediterranean Sea. 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/xwrlcsqc/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-7-the-fishing-effort-regime-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The fishing effort regime in the Western Mediterranean Sea |date=July 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/xwrlcsqc/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-7-the-fishing-effort-regime-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2025fishing, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The fishing effort regime in the Western Mediterranean Sea}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/xwrlcsqc/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-7-the-fishing-effort-regime-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }