Wild-capture fisheries and marine and brackish aquaculture operations in the Mediterranean and Black seas produced close to 2 million metric tons (MT) of seafood in 2021, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).
The report, “The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries (SoMFi) 2023,” found that these activities collectively generated USD 20.5 billion (EUR 19 billion) in revenue and supported 700,000 jobs throughout the seafood value chain.
This year’s SoMFi report included data on the region’s aquaculture for the first time, and calculated the sector increased its production in volume by 91.3 percent over the last decade to around 870,000 MT, with revenue rising 74.5 percent over that period to USD 12.7 billion (USD 11.8 billion).
GFCM Executive Secretary Miguel Bernal specifically highlighted that the region’s fisheries contribute more jobs, but aquaculture operations now generate more revenue.
“Capture fisheries production has been declining since the 1990s due to the reduced biomass in key commercial species but also more recently due to restrictive measures taken to ensure sustainability,” Bernal said. “Opposite to fisheries, aquaculture is clearly on a growth [trend], with both production and revenues nearly doubling in the last decade.”
The three main farmed production methods in the region are marine cages, ponds, and suspended culture, while the most commonly farmed species are gilthead seabream (281,914 MT in 2021), European sea bass (272,096 MT), and Mediterranean mussels (86,117 MT). Turkey (314,408 MT), Egypt (137,202 MT), and Greece (135,318 MT) were the three largest regional producers, together accounting for 71 percent of 2021’s total volume.
Greece’s Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (HAPO) Director of Communications and Public Relations Ismini Bogdanou said the report’s findings suggest that aquaculture is “successfully responding with reliable consistency” to the increasing global demand for high-quality protein, adding that consumers now perceive seafood as a more environmentally friendly and sustainable protein option.
“The rise of aquaculture is a positive indicator of economic opportunities within the industry,” she said. “As production increases, so does the potential for job creation and economic growth, bringing financial benefits for all parties involved.”
According to Bogdanou, aquaculture’s rising figures indicate “now is the time for action” to ensure aquaculture can continue to grow in a sustainable way. In this regard, climate change presents the biggest challenge in the Mediterranean and Black seas, she said.
“The best way to ensure aquaculture can continue growing in a sustainable way is successful adaptation to the ‘new reality,’ ensuring that regulations and voices governing aquaculture are adapted to the climate crisis and that they are well-defined, fair, and conducive to industry growth going forward,” Bogdanou said.
Another one of SoMFi’s key findings is that in 2021, overfishing in the region fell to its lowest level in a decade and below 60 percent for the first time. Bernal said this “confirms the excessive fishing pressure that has been exerted in our region is being gradually reduced.”
To maintain the momentum, GFCM will continue to focus on expanding its 10 management plans, which have proved successful with a number of species such as hake, common sole, and turbot. With 58 percent of fish stocks continuing to be overexploited, though, SoMFi 2023 acknowledges that fishing pressure is still double the level that’s considered sustainable.
Morocco’s National Institute of Fisheries Research (INRH) Director Mohammed Malouli Idrissi echoed this point, saying that the situation has improved but that 58 percent “is still not a low number; it’s a big number.”
“We will encourage scientists to produce more scientific opinions and propose rigorous alternatives because the situation does not allow us to just wait around,” he said.
Overall, the region’s wild catches largely comprise small pelagic fish – mainly European anchovy in the Black Sea (342,000 MT in 2021) and sardines in the Mediterranean (141,000 MT). Catches of deep-water rose shrimp, common cuttlefish, and mullets have also increased in recent decades.
Conversely, European hake (17,824 MT) and sardine landings have shown a continuous declining trend since the 1980s, and Mediterranean horse mackerel has followed those trends since the early ‘90s.
Vessels from four countries – Tunisia, Greece, Italy, and Turkey – accounted for 58 percent of the region’s total fishing fleet, while five countries – Italy, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria – made up 64 percent of total fishing capacity. Small-scale vessels, which are boats under 12 meters, made up 82 percent of the region’s fishing fleet and provided 61 percent of total employment – but only accounted for about 15 percent of catch and just under 30 percent of the sector’s total revenue.
Responding to the report, Tunisian fisher and industry representative Ibtissem Gobbaa confirmed the small-scale sector has struggled with low profitability over recent years and said this was largely due to increased competition from large, industrial fishing operations, while marine pollution problems have also increased in key areas.
“These negative issues are leading to fewer jobs and a hesitancy among young people to consider working as fishers,” she said. “It seems to me that we need to provide a better fit between the needs of the fishing sector and the social benefits, as we have seasonal, variable, and irregular income in the sector. Additionally, there is a need to simplify the procedures at an administrative level to make it more efficient.”
By giving enough support to potential young fishers, Gobbaa maintains the small-scale sector can attract higher levels of qualified labor. She recommended that moving forward, young people need to receive proper support, such as advice, training, and help in securing funding.
“We need to have more income-generating activities in the sector, particularly for women, and we need more support for fishers and to preserve fisheries resources from both pollution and illicit fishing, as well as the support of more scientific research,” she said.
Photo courtesy of zaferkizilkaya/Shutterstock
