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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Workshop on Discards Estimation and Monitoring was held online on 25–26 May 2022. The Workshop was attended by 56 participants, including scientific experts and representatives from the administrations of Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, as well as representatives of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE) and of the GFCM Secretariat. The objectives of the meeting were to a) recall existing tools and requirements in terms of discards monitoring and management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; b) review ongoing discards monitoring programmes in the area and provide a platform to exchange experiences and best practices; c) share and jointly analyse the most recent data and information gathered through monitoring activities and identify gaps; d) advance towards identifying a list of common indicators to measure the impact of discards on priority species and main fisheries; e) discuss key aspects in the sampling and analysis of discards data; f) encourage the use of discards data in the assessment process; g) propose possible mitigation/management proposals; and h) address data collection and related needs to ensure regular and harmonized discards monitoring. Participants reviewed the existing national discards monitoring programmes and presented on several studies. The Workshop discussed the priorities for continued monitoring activities, providing suggestions to better homogenize discard monitoring in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, as well as to standardize the analysis of collected data at the subregional and regional levels. The Workshop also agreed on the establishment of a working group on discards to coordinate technical activities towards providing a joint analysis of discards rates and support the formulation of scientific advice.