President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed Law No. 4522-IX “On Ukraine’s Accession to the Agreement Establishing the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.”
The legislation was developed as part of Ukraine’s EU integration commitments, aiming to harmonize national legislation with EU law regarding the sustainable use and protection of aquatic biological resources in the Azov-Black Sea basin.
Adopting the Agreement establishing the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean will enable Ukraine to become a full member of the organization, providing it with full tools to participate in shaping the Black Sea agenda in fisheries management. Ukraine will also gain voting rights on matters related to fisheries regulation and aquaculture development in the Black Sea basin.
This step will support the objectives outlined in Ukraine’s Fisheries Development Strategy up to 2030 and will strengthen cooperation with other coastal states in areas such as:
- Conservation and management of aquatic biological resources;
- Inspection and control of fishing activities;
- Data collection and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Full membership in the GFCM will also open new opportunities for international support, including:
- Studying and implementing successful regional practices in fisheries management;
- Receiving technical assistance to develop administrative and scientific capacity in Ukraine’s fisheries sector.
Overall, these changes will help ensure the sustainable use and protection of aquatic resources, reduce IUU fishing, and stimulate aquaculture development. This is expected to positively impact economic growth in coastal regions and strengthen Ukraine’s food security.
Background
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is a regional international organization managing fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea waters.
It includes 23 contracting parties: Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Union, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. In addition, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Moldova, and Ukraine cooperate with the GFCM. Ukraine obtained the status of a cooperating party in 2015.
