- the new GFCM project on bycatch – resolution adopted in November
On the occasion of the forty-fourth session of the GFCM, representatives of 21 countries and the European Union met online to review proposals for resolutions and binding recommendations to improve the management and conservation of marine resources across the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, based on the best scientific advice available. One of the results was the adoption of resolution GFCM/44/2021/5 on the mitigation of fisheries impacts upon the conservation of sturgeons in the Black Sea (geographical sub area 29) that ncourages an pilot project assessing and mitigating bycatch of sturgeons. The range states are invited to develop a joint program to assess the amount, geospatial distribution and the geartype in which bycatch occurs. The outcome is to provide a first detailed overview on the impact of fisheries on the highly threatened sturgeon populations in the region.
