Fishing pressure in the Mediterranean and Black Sea has fallen sharply over the past decade, but just over half of assessed fish populations remain overfished and threats are mounting, the UN food agency said in a report on Friday.
Sea fishing in the region, coupled with farmed production in salty or semi-salty coastal waters, produces about 2.06 million tonnes of food a year worth $21.5 billion and supports 1.17 million jobs, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.
Average overall fishing pressure has fallen by 50 per cent since 2013, while the proportion of stocks fished within sustainable levels has doubled thanks to more careful management and less fishing pressure, the FAO said in the biennial report.
Even so, 52 per cent of assessed stocks are still classed as overexploited, with incidental catch of vulnerable species like sharks and sea turtles a problem in parts of the central and eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic.
"Stocks are not yet where we would like them to be, but they are beginning to recover thanks to science-driven management action and strong stakeholder engagement, while aquaculture...is proving it can help meet future demand for aquatic foods,” said Manuel Barange, the FAO’S head of fisheries and aquaculture.
In 2023, fishers in the Mediterranean and Black Sea brought in a total of about 1.12 million tonnes of wild-caught fish and other marine animals, up 13 per cent from 2022 but broadly stable over the past decade.
Turkey remained the leading fishing nation, accounting for roughly 31 per cent of landings and 17 per cent of fleet capacity, followed by Italy and Greece.
Aquaculture across the region produced 2.97 million tonnes of food in 2023, worth $9.3 billion, with farming in salty or semi-salty waters accounting for some 940,000 tonnes of this.
However, aquaculture faces rising pressure from heatwaves, disease outbreaks, non-indigenous species and complex licensing and legal frameworks that can deter investment, especially for small producers, the report said.
To meet projected demand by 2050 and ensure countries in the region reach global average per capita consumption of aquatic foods, put at 20.7 kilograms in 2022, total output will need to rise by between 14 per cent to 29 per cent, the report added.
(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Conor Humphries)
