INTRODUCTION

1. The management of fisheries and aquaculture by the General Fisheries Commission is based on the best available scientific knowledge that is provided by its two specific Committees, the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Aquaculture Committee. These two Committees met during the intersessional period as reported under item 3 of the Agenda and formulated the following recommendations for consideration by the Commission.

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

2. The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) recommandations emanated mainly from the conclusions and proposals made by its four Sub-Committees and thus are classified by areas of competence of these Sub-Committees.

1. Fisheries Economics and Social Sciences (Paragraph 62 to 64 of the report of the Third Session of SAC)
• SAC recommended the development of a network of social sciences that would contribute to the set-up and maintenance of an inventory of experts specialized in fisheries social sciences and related studies. The network that should have a Webpage would also assist in the identification of experts to be consulted in their respective field of competence.
• SAC endorsed the results of the pilot study (in the Alboran Sea) on socio-economic indicators and recommended the development and use of homogenous socio-economics in the GFCM area.
• The Sub-Committee felt it necessary that studies be carried out that take into consideration the relationship between social, institutional and legal aspects of fisheries management.
1. Stock Assessment (Paragraph 66 to 67 of the report of the Third Session of SAC)

3. SAC recommended :

• the strict implementation of GFCM existing management measures and considered that any new management resolutions should take into account the weaknesses and uncertainty of some assessment used by the SAC Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA). The Committee underlined the necessity to consider the socio-economic impacts of any new measures to be adopted by the Commission;
• that the limits of the management units should be defined with precision¹;
• that the member countries participate actively in the updating of data required for the assessment providing the Working Group of the SCSA;
• that a common effort be put into the assessment of resources of the Southern and Eastern areas of the Mediterranean.
1. Statistics and Information (Paragraph 68 of the report of the Third Session of SAC)

4. SAC recommended that:

• its Sub-Committee on Statistics and Information (SCSI) be entrusted with the collection of capture fisheries statistics in all disciplines (purposes) related to the industry and with the coordination of activities that contribute to a single fishery statistics data base; this recommendation is meant to avoid discrepancies between data provided to SAC by different and non coordinated sources;
• the STATLANT 37B questionnaire be abolished;
• a regional project proposal to improve the quality and coverage of data for the Mediterranean as a whole be prepared within the Fifth Framework Programme of the EU;
• a multidisciplinary Working Group be brought together by SCSI to design and compile an inventory of operational units and to define the data structure and fishing effort parameters. The Working Group may, as a first step, be organized by ADRIAMED and start with Adriatic Sea area.
1. Marine Environment and Ecosystems (Paragraph 69 of the report of the Third Session of SAC)

5. SAC recommended that:

• studies on the effects of environmental parameters on the recruitment processes for shared stocks be supported;
• studies on the effect of the fishing gear on non-targeted species and on the marine ecosystem also be supported;
• member countries coordinate their national sharks plans at the regional level.

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COMMITTEE ON AQUACULTURE

6. The Second Session of the Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ) of GFCM, which took place in Rome, Italy, from 13 to 16 June 2000, issued the following recommendations for consideration by the Commission. The Committee on Aquaculture recommended:

1. General
• that activities of regional relevance should receive priority in the elaboration of future programmes of the Networks; (Paragraph 31)
• that the management and development of capture fisheries and aquaculture sub sectors be integrated as the two sub-sectors are part of a single system for provision of fisheries products to the member countries. It further noted that it would be necessary to take into consideration the interactions of the two sectors that generate issues of political relevance at ecological, economical and social levels, which need to be resolved in a concerted way. (Paragraph 43)
• that adequate importance be given by the Commission at the time of deciding on programmes and budgets to the work necessary in the context of the Committee on Aquaculture and for the integration of the two sub-sectors (Paragraph 43);
• that provisions are made to secure the use of four official languages for the next Committee meetings (Paragraph 42) .
2. SIPAM Network
• that Portugal become a member of the Information System for Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (SIPAM) and be invited as an observer to the GFCM sessions (Paragaraph 26 of the report of the Second Session of CAQ);
• that the need to promote further cooperation of SIPAM with other fora in the area concerned by Aquaculture Information System was recommended in order to avoid duplication of work and overlapping competences (Paragraph 17).
3. TECAM and SELAM Networks
• the inclusion in the two programmes, Technology and Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (TECAM) and Socio-Economics and Legal Aspects of Aquaculture (SELAM), as a matter of priority using a system analysis approach to follow the orientation of the Consultation on Article 9 of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Paragraph 30).
• that activities of high regional relevance in line with the results of the Consultation on Article 9 should receive priority in the programme of activities of the Networks (Paragraph 31).
4. Follow-up to the Consultation on Article 9 of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
• to follow the orientation provided by the Consultation on Article 9 of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in future programmes.
• that information on the Consultation be presented in the next issue of the State of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) because of the innovative character of the event.
• The idea of a regional project to implement the Plan of Action established by the Consultation received the approval of the Committee of Aquaculture.

SUGGESTED ACTION BY THE COMMISSION

7. The Commission is invited to review, and possibly adopt, the recommendations, of its Committees (SAC and CAQ) and to take the measures that it may deem necessary for the management of fisheries, the improvement of the Mediterranean fisheries statitistics, the protection of juveniles and nursing areas, the coordination of regional studies, the sound assessment of the shared stocks and the development of sustainable aquaculture.

8. The Commission may also wish to invite its Members to make additional efforts in view of the effective implementation of GFCM Resolutions and to provide the Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups of GFCM with the necessary, timely and accurate data for the activities of these bodies.

1 Such a recommendation is to be implemented by SAC itself through its subsidiary bodies.