As fisheries managers from across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea sit down together this week for the 49th session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), running 26–30 October 2026, they have a rare thing in front of them: a genuine recovery story. The evidence comes from the GFCM’s flagship State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025 (SoMFi) report, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with contributions from more than 700 regional experts and based on official data from GFCM members.
The headline is striking. Between 2013 and 2023, fishing pressure in the region was cut by roughly half, the biomass of assessed commercial species rose by 25%, and the share of assessed stocks classed as overfished fell from 87% to 52% — the lowest level in the recorded series. That is still a sobering number: more than half of assessed stocks remain overfished. But the direction of travel has flipped, and the report credits a decade of science-driven management rather than luck.
This post breaks down what the report actually found, which species recovered and which did not, what drove the turnaround, and what it means for fishers, fish farmers and policymakers far beyond the Mediterranean — including in India, where many of the same tools are now in use.
The Report at a Glance
| Detail | What SoMFi 2025 Found |
|---|---|
| Report | State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025 (SoMFi), FAO/GFCM |
| Released | 28 November 2025 (FAO newsroom release) |
| Assessment period | 2013–2023, covering 120 stocks |
| Experts involved | More than 700 regional experts |
| Fishing pressure change | Down by about 50% (fishing mortality) |
| Biomass change | Up 25% for assessed commercial species |
| Overfished share | 87% in 2013 → 52% in 2023 (lowest on record) |
| Regional value chain (2023) | 2.06 million tonnes, $21.5 billion, 1.17 million jobs |
| Marine/brackish aquaculture (2023) | Over 45% of aquatic food production, 940,000 tonnes |
| Production needed by 2050 | 14–29% more, to hold current per-capita consumption |
All figures in this article are taken from the FAO’s official SoMFi 2025 newsroom release. Where the report’s assessment period ends in 2023, this article says so — these are the latest assessed figures, not 2026 catch data.
Why This Week Matters: The GFCM’s 49th Session
The GFCM is the regional body responsible for managing fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. At its 49th session, from 26 to 30 October 2026, members review implementation of the yearly workplan, adopt recommendations and resolutions based on the best available scientific advice, and agree future priorities and direction.
That timing is why the SoMFi findings are back in the news now. The session is, in effect, the moment when a decade of recovery evidence meets the next round of decisions: which management plans to extend, where enforcement still falls short, and how fast aquaculture — now the region’s fastest-expanding source of aquatic food — can grow without repeating the overfishing mistakes of capture fisheries.
What Actually Drove the Recovery?
The report does not credit a single policy. It points to a decade of accelerated, coordinated action by GFCM members since 2013:
- 11 management plans adopted for priority fisheries, setting binding rules on effort, catches and seasons.
- 11 fisheries restricted areas established, where fishing is limited or banned to protect spawning grounds and sensitive habitats.
- 18 research programmes and pilot studies launched to feed science directly into decision-making.
- Regional commitments under the MedFish4Ever and Sofia Declarations, which gave political weight to the scientific advice.
The payoff shows up most clearly where management plans were targeted. Species under specific plans recovered faster than the regional average — the strongest evidence in the report that rules, when enforced and science-based, actually rebuild stocks rather than merely slowing their decline.
The Winners: Sole and Turbot Lead the Comeback
| Species / Area | What Changed | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Common sole, Adriatic Sea | Fishing mortality down 42%, biomass up 64% since 2019 | Proof that a targeted plan can turn a stock around in a few years |
| Turbot, Black Sea | Fishing mortality down 86%, biomass up 310% since 2013 | The report’s standout recovery — a stock rebuilt from heavy overfishing |
| Red mullet (region-wide) | Clear reduction in fishing mortality | A widely fished commercial species responding to lower pressure |
| Giant red shrimp | Clear reduction in fishing mortality | High-value species benefiting from effort controls |
The turbot story deserves emphasis. An 86% cut in fishing mortality and a more than fourfold biomass increase since 2013 is not a marginal improvement — it is the kind of recovery fisheries scientists hope for when they recommend deep effort cuts, and it shows why the GFCM keeps returning to the same formula: assess, restrict, monitor, repeat.
The Laggards: Sardine and Hake Still Struggle
The report is equally clear about what has not worked yet:
- Sardine stocks have suffered sustained overexploitation over time and still show signs of biomass depletion, despite the region-wide fall in fishing pressure.
- European hake shows only modest biomass recovery despite a 38% fall in fishing mortality since 2015 — and results vary sharply between subregions, a reminder that one regional average can hide local failures.
- 52% of assessed stocks remain overfished — better than 87%, but, in the FAO’s own words, still too high for a healthy marine ecosystem.
Other persistent problems named in the report include compliance gaps with adopted measures, an ageing workforce, unequal profitability across fleets, discards, and incidental catches of vulnerable species — particularly sharks, rays and turtles in identified hot spots — plus rising marine litter in trawler catches.
FAO Assistant Director-General Manuel Barange summed up the balance honestly: 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.”
Aquaculture: Now Nearly Half the Region’s Aquatic Food
For the first time, SoMFi 2025 gives aquaculture a detailed overview of its own — and the numbers explain why the GFCM session is paying it so much attention:
- Marine and brackish aquaculture now accounts for more than 45% of the region’s aquatic food production, reaching 940,000 tonnes in 2023.
- Including freshwater production, aquaculture generates $9.3 billion and produces nearly 3 million tonnes of aquatic food.
- Marine and brackish farming alone is worth $5.2 billion and directly employs 113,000 people.
- Production is highly concentrated: just 11 species account for 99% of output, led by gilthead seabream (34.5%) and European seabass (29.7%). Only eight countries produce 95.5% of farmed aquatic food, led by Türkiye (400,000 tonnes), Egypt (147,000 tonnes) and Greece (139,000 tonnes).
That concentration is both a strength and a warning. A handful of species and countries drive the sector’s growth, which makes supply chains efficient — but also vulnerable to disease, market shocks and climate impacts in a few locations. The report’s prescription is a coordinated approach: keep aquaculture sustainable, productive and competitive while protecting ecological services, animal welfare and coastal livelihoods, and cut through fragmented, complex regulations that still slow responsible farmers down.
What Happens Next: The 2050 Challenge
Demand for aquatic food in the region is expected to rise with growing populations and changing diets. The report estimates production will need to increase by 14–29% by 2050 just to allow all countries to maintain current per-capita consumption rates.
That target frames the GFCM session’s real test. Capture fisheries alone cannot deliver it — 52% of stocks are still overfished. The growth must come from responsibly farmed fish, from rebuilding wild stocks so they can sustain higher yields later, and from cutting waste across value chains. As GFCM Executive Secretary Miguel Bernal put it, the task is to make sure aquatic foods, fishers and fish farmers “continue to play a key role in the region’s coastal communities, through cooperation and effective management.”
What This Means for India and Other Fishing Nations
The Mediterranean recovery carries lessons that travel well beyond its shores:
- Management plans beat open access. The fastest recoveries happened where a specific plan bound effort and catches — the same logic behind India’s marine fishing regulations and reservoir cage-culture guidelines.
- Restricted areas work. Protecting spawning grounds delivered spillover benefits, a model already used in seasonal fishing bans along India’s coasts.
- Aquaculture fills the gap — carefully. With wild stocks still rebuilding, farmed seabream and seabass now carry nearly half the region’s aquatic food supply. India’s own aquaculture expansion faces the same balancing act between growth, disease control and environmental limits.
- Science must lead politics. The GFCM’s recovery followed assessments, not announcements — a standard worth holding every fisheries decision to, including quota calls closer to home.
Readers following European fisheries policy may also want to read our coverage of the EU’s Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture, the 2027 Baltic fishing quotas agreed this week, and the FAO’s global SOFIA 2026 report, which puts the Mediterranean recovery in a world context of record 235-million-tonne production.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is overfishing in the Mediterranean really halved?
Fishing pressure — measured as fishing mortality — fell by about 50% between 2013 and 2023 across the 120 assessed stocks. That is a halving of pressure, not a halving of the overfished list: 52% of stocks remain overfished, down from 87%.
Is the SoMFi report new?
No — SoMFi 2025 was released on 28 November 2025 and assesses data through 2023. It is in focus again now because the GFCM’s 49th session (26–30 October 2026) is using its evidence to set the next round of management decisions.
Which species recovered most?
Black Sea turbot (biomass up 310% since 2013) and Adriatic common sole (biomass up 64% since 2019) are the standout recoveries. Sardine and European hake remain the main concerns.
How big is Mediterranean aquaculture now?
Marine and brackish aquaculture produced 940,000 tonnes in 2023 — over 45% of the region’s aquatic food. Including freshwater, aquaculture nears 3 million tonnes worth $9.3 billion.
Where can I read the original report?
The FAO newsroom release and the full SoMFi 2025 report are linked below. All figures in this article come from those official sources.
Official Sources
- FAO newsroom — “The Mediterranean and the Black Sea: Fisheries sustainability concerns remain, but overfishing drops to its lowest level in a decade, while aquaculture feeds more people” (SoMFi 2025 release, 28 November 2025): fao.org
- FAO/GFCM — “From healthy seas to healthy foods” (49th GFCM session, 26–30 October 2026): fao.org
Images in this article are illustrations created for Fisheries India and do not depict the specific stocks or locations discussed. Stock figures refer to the SoMFi 2025 assessment period (2013–2023) unless stated otherwise.