General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean

The purpose of the Commission shall be to promote the development, conservation, rational management and best utilization of living marine resources, as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Region. In particular, the Commission has the following responsibilities:

• to keep under review the state of the Mediterranean living resources, including their abundance and the level of their exploitation, as well as the state of the fisheries based thereon;
• to formulate and recommend, appropriate measures: (i) for the conservation and rational management of living marine resources; and (ii) for the implementation of these recommendations;
• to keep under review the economic and social aspects of the fishing industry and recommend any measures aimed at its development;
• to encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake training and extension activities in all aspects of fisheries;
• to encourage, recommend, coordinate and, as appropriate, undertake research and development activities, including cooperative projects in the areas of fisheries and the protection of living marine resources;
• to assemble, publish or disseminate information regarding exploitable living marine resources and fisheries based on these resources;
• to promote programmes for marine and brackish water aquaculture and coastal fisheries enhancement;
• to carry out such other activities as may be necessary for the Commission to achieve its purpose as defined above.

Commission membership is open to Members of the United Nations, especially coastal States, States whose vessels engage in fishing in the Convention Area as well as to Regional Economic Integration Organizations.

The Commission normally holds its Regular Session on an annual basis and convenes special sessions, as appropriate, at the request or with the approval of the majority of the Members. It seeks to promote the conservation and rational management of living marine resources through, inter alia, drawing up binding measures related to the regulation of fishing methods, fishing gear and minimum landing sizes, together with the establishment of open and closed fishing seasons and areas. It also strives to implement a fishing effort control regime by Operational Units through the regulation of catch and fishing effort and their allocation among Members.

Sessions of the Commission are attended by delegates, their alternates, experts and advisers. Each Member has the right to one vote except in the case of a Regional Economic Integration Organization (REIO) which is entitled to the number of votes equal to the number of its Member States which are also Members of the Commission. Competence and voting power over specific Session issues are indicated by REIOs prior to the Session; REIOs cannot exercise their votes when their Member States exercise theirs and vice versa.

Provide independent advice on the technical and scientific bases for decisions concerning fisheries conservation and management, including biological, social and economic aspects, in particular:

• assess information provided by Members and relevant fisheries organizations or programmes on catches, fishing efforts, and other data relevant to the conservation and management of fisheries;
• formulate advice to the Commission on the conservation and management of fisheries;
• identify cooperative research programmes and coordinate their implementation;
• undertake such other functions or responsibilities as may be conferred by the Commission.

• Coordination Meeting of the Sub-Committees (CMSC)
• Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA)
• Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems (SCMEE)
• Sub-Committee on Statistics and Information (SCSI)
• Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences (SCESS)

Title	Name	Country	Election date	e-mail
Chairperson	Mr Henri FARRUGIO	France	February 2008
1st Vice-Chairperson	Mr Othman JARBOUI	Tunisia	February 2008
2nd Vice-Chairperson	Mr Atig DRAWIL-HUNI	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	February 2008

Sub-Committee	Name	Country	Election date	e-mail
SCSA	Mr Fabio FIORENTINO	Italy	April 2010
SCMEE	Mr Federico ALVAREZ PRADO	Spain	April 2010
SCSI	Mr Joël VIGNEAU	France	February 2008
SCESS	Mr Vahdet ÜNAL	Turkey	April 2010

Monitor trends and promote the sustainable development and responsible management of marine and brackish water aquaculture in the region, and provide independent advice on the technical, socio-economic, legal and environmental bases for common standards, norms and guidelines and decisions for consideration by the Commission, in particular:

• assess information provided by Members and relevant aquaculture related stakeholders or programmes on production statistics, market data, culture systems, technologies used, farmed species, and maintain related databases, including relevant socio-economic, environmental, biotic and abiotic indicators;
• promote the formulation of common standards and guidelines on sustainable development and responsible management of aquaculture;
• identify cooperative research and training programmes and coordinate their implementation;
• carry out other duties, functions or responsibilities related to aquaculture promotion as be conferred by the Commission.

• Coordination Meeting of the Working Groups (CMWG)
• Working Group on Marketing
• Working Group on Sustainability Indicators
• Working Group on Siting and Carrying Capacity
• Information System for the Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (SIPAM)

Title	Name	Country	Election date	e-mail
Chairperson	Mr Francois RENÈ	France	February 2011
1st Vice-Chairperson	Mr Hayri DENIZ	Turkey	February 2011
2nd Vice-Chairperson	Mr Pablo AVILA	Spain	February 2011

• review compliance with conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission and make such recommendations to the Commission as may be necessary to ensure their effectiveness;
• review the implementation of measures of monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement adopted by the Commission as may be necessary to ensure their effectiveness;
• define, develop and make recommendations to the Commission concerning the phased development and implementation of the GFCM Control and Inspection scheme;
• monitor, review and analyze information pertaining to the activities of Non-Contracting Parties and their vessels which undermine the objectives of the Agreement including, in particular, IUU fishing, and recommend actions to be taken by the Commission to discourage such activities;
• perform such other tasks as directed by the Commission.

Title	Name	Country	Election date	e-mail
Chairperson	Mr Samir MAJDALANI	Lebanon	May 2011
1st Vice-Chairperson	Mr Josip MARKOVIC	Croatia	May 2012
2nd Vice-Chairperson	Mr Khaled FLITI	Algeria	May 2011

Mandate

• review administrative matters relating to the Executive Secretary and his staff and make appropriate recommendations to the Commission;
• review compliance with the rules of procedures and financial rules;
• review the implementation of the budget adopted at the previous session of the Commission and analyse and make recommendations on the draft budget to be adopted at the current session of the Commission; and
• perform such other administration and financial matters as may be referred to it by the Commission.

Bureau

Title	Name	Country	Election date	e-mail
Chairperson	Mr Hachemi MISSAOUI	Tunisia	May 2011
1st Vice-Chairperson	Ms Aleksandar JOKSIMOVIC	Montenegro	May 2011
2nd Vice-Chairperson	Mr Mohamed NAJIH	Morocco	May 2011