Seabird bycatch mitigation in the Mediterranean

The paper provides an overview of seabird bycatch regulations and activities with the aim of providing an update on seabird mitigation activities and existing regulations at regional scale in the Mediterranean to the ICCAT Sub-Committee on Ecosystems of Recommendation GFCM/35/2011/3 on reducing incidental catches of seabirds in fisheries includes data submission requirements and identifies the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) as central to evaluating bycatch risk, developing monitoring and providing advice on specific mitigation options. The recommendation does not include requirements for the implementation of mitigation measures by vessels. In order to strengthen the collection and processing of data across the region the SAC has developed the Data Collection Reference Framework (DCRF), which establishes a minimum set of parameters against which countries must report. It includes area-based information on national fleets and their activities, catch and effort and biological information on the main species, including incidental catch of vulnerable species. Currently, GFCM Members are discussing the implementation of a mid-term strategy towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries (2017-2020), which is expected to establish a bycatch monitoring programme to obtain representative data on discards and incidental catches, with a view to facilitating the adoption of required management measures towards the reduction of bycatch rates.