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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Expert Group on European Eel in the Mediterranean (EGEMed) was organized by the GFCM and held on 4–5 June 2024, in hybrid modality, at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The objectives of the meeting were to: i) review the new management measures introduced at the country level following Recommendation GFCM/46/2023/16 on a long-term management plan for European eel in the Mediterranean Sea; ii) present and discuss the results of the work conducted under the 2023–2024 roadmap; iii) discuss existing and potential long-term management measures towards providing scientific advice to the twenty-fifth session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC) on additional options for management; iv) exchange experiences from other regions and countries not involved in the work of the 2023–2024 roadmap; and v) discuss future needs for data collection, reporting and assessment. The Group noted that the 2023–2024 roadmap, particularly its points on socioeconomic aspects and the multi-objective assessment, had allowed for the identification of a wider pool of additional management measures (encompassing the fishery, habitat and conservation) that could inform the long-term management plan for the European eel fishery in the Mediterranean. According to the multi-objective analysis of alternative management measures, the current management plan foreseeing temporal fishery closures (among other actions) can potentially provide effective protection towards stock recovery. However, in practice, the measures set therein had not yet been correctly or fully implemented, especially the design of closed seasons. Therefore, the need to ensure their full implementation was stressed. Based on this work, the Group discussed options for additional measures to be potentially considered towards future long-term management and updated the existing technical elements and the toolbox of measures contained therein. The Group also recommended on how to improve synergies with other European fora and technical groups dealing with European eel, how to include countries not yet part of the EGEMed technical work, and future options for the network (scientists and administrators) working on European eel under the umbrella of the research programme (Phase 1 and Phase 2).