Report | November 12, 2024

Rebuilding western Mediterranean fisheries: status and policy recommendations for 2025

West Med MAP

The western Mediterranean multiannual plan (West Med MAP), introduced in 2019, is the European
Union’s primary framework for the conservation and sustainable management of demersal stocks in the Western Mediterranean Sea.

Despite significant progress made through the West Med MAP, the target of sustainable fishing mortality rates in the Western Mediterranean remains far from being achieved. While the reductions in fishing effort, spatial-temporal closures, and selectivity improvements are steps in the right direction, stock recovery remains slow.