This is the most widely assessed species in the Mediterranean. Until the mid-1990s, high estimated juvenile mortality rates did not cause an obvious decline in recruitment. At the same time, catches were also increasing in both the east and west Mediterranean (Fiorentini, Caddy and de Leiva, 1997). It was suggested that this was because of the population of adult spawners surviving in some less exploited regions, the so-called spawning refugia (Caddy, 1990). However, after reaching their maximum (52 000 tonnes) in 1995, reported catches declined abruptly, to reach levels less than half of this maximum (about 21 000 tonnes) by 2003, recovering later to levels close to those of the early 1980s (Figure B5.6). The decline was associated with the systematic introduction of deep bottom gear (longlines and gillnets) that targeted the largest and most valuable fish (e.g. AdriaMed, 2005). The most recent stock assessment Working Groups (GFCM, 2011a; Cardinale et al., 2010) assessed the status of the stocks of this species in 11 GSAs. They concluded that all these stocks were being overexploited, with decreasing biomass and recruitment trends in many of these GSAs. The assessments recommended that both overall fishing mortality and the percentage of small fish in the catch should be reduced. This latter measure can be achieved through temporal closures of the nursery areas or gear modifications. Nevertheless, the importance of protecting a part of the adult spawning population has been identified several times as a way of improving the likelihood of sufficient recruitment to the population (e.g. Caddy, 1990; GFCM, 2011a).

During the latest meetings of the stock assessment Working Groups, the stocks of red mullet in 10 GSAs and of striped mullet in 3 GSAs were assessed (GFCM 2011a; Cardinale et al., 2010). All stocks were considered to be suffering overexploitation, with the exception of striped mullet in Malta Island, which was diagnosed as under full exploitation. The Working Group recommended a reduction in the overall fishing pressure and in the percentage of juveniles in the catches. It also recommended pursuing these reductions through changes to the gear or the protection of nursery areas.

Sparids and seabreams play an important role in Mediterranean demersal fisheries and are generally heavily exploited. Analysis of data for Sparus aurata in the Gulf of Lions (Farrugio and Le Corre, 1994) suggested that it was fished above FMSY, and it is unlikely that this situation has improved. Pandora (Pagellus spp.) and groupers appear to be some of the demersal species least resistant to heavy exploitation, and catch rates have declined in a number of regions. Pandora stocks have been heavily overfished in Greek waters (Papaconstantinou, Mytilineou and Panos, 1988), and probably also in Cyprus. Other species overexploited in this region include bogue (Boops boops) and red mullet stocks (Hadjistephanou, 1992). In contrast, picarels (Spicara spp.) are considered to be exploited close to MSY. The stock of common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) in GFCM GSA 09 (Ligurian and North Tyrrhenian seas) was assessed as overexploited by the SGMED WG in 2010 (Cardinale et al., 2010). The stocks of blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) in the Alboran Sea were assessed by a joint Moroccan–Spanish working group within the framework of the CopeMed II project. The stock was classified as overexploited, although its status on the southern side is appreciably better than that on the northern side of the Alboran Sea (GFCM, 2011b). Finally, although bogue is a bycatch in many regions, it is targeted in several others, e.g. GSAs 03 and 26, and the stocks of this species in these regions were assessed as being overexploited in 2008–09. However, the situation of the species in other GSAs is probably slightly better.

The recent assessments undertaken in the framework of the AdriaMed project and by the GFCM stock assessment Working Groups indicate that sole (Solea solea) stocks in the Adriatic and the South Levant regions are heavily overexploited. The catches also include a large proportion of juveniles (GFCM, 2011a). The management recommendations for these two stocks include a reduction in the overall fishing mortality and reinforcement of closed areas during the peak recruitment periods to protect juveniles.

Few data exist for horse mackerels (Trachurus trachurus and T. mediterraneus) as they are not a target species for the most fisheries in Area 37. They are apparently not intensively fished, except in Turkey and maybe some southwest Mediterranean countries. Their biomass appears to be variable, presumably responding to environmental fluctuations. They are migratory, but the patterns are unclear and this makes their assessment more difficult. Similar considerations apply to mackerels (Scomber scombrus and Scomber japonicus).

Three stocks of this species were assessed in the most recent round of formal stock assessments (GFCM, 2011a; Cardinale et al., 2010). These stocks were those from GFCM GSA 05 (Balearic Islands), GSA 09 (Ligurian and North Tyrrhenian Seas) and GSA 17 (northern Adriatic, stock assessed in the framework of the AdriaMed project). All three stocks were found to be overexploited, requiring a reduction in fishing mortality, albeit to different degrees. This species is often captured by the fleets exploiting the deep-sea shrimps Parapenaeus longirostris and Aristeus antennatus, as well as larger hake (e.g. Sartor et al., 2003; Sbrana, Sartor and Belcari, 2003). Thus, the management of Norway lobster must take into consideration the multispecies nature of the fishery.

Rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) is exploited throughout the Mediterranean, and in most GSAs. During the last series of assessments, the stocks of this species in six GSAs B5. Mediterranean and Black Sea – FAO Statistical Area 37 85 were assessed, and the conclusion was that five (83 percent) of these were overexploited and one was fully exploited. This species is actively targeted in all these GSAs, but it is also sometimes captured as a bycatch of other fisheries (GFCM, 2011a). Therefore, management must take into consideration the multispecies nature of the fishery.

Red shrimps (Aristeus antennatus and Aristaeomorpha foliacea) are intensely exploited in the western and central Mediterranean by bottom trawlers fishing the continental slope. The most recent assessments could only analyse the state of the stocks of these species in two GSAs (Balearic Islands and Northern Strait of Sicily), which were considered to be overexploited. For some countries, significant amounts of Aristeus and Aristeomorpha are probably reported to FAO simply as “natantian decapods NEI”. Given the high economic value of this resource in the region (Lleonart et al., 2003), and the expansion in the fisheries targeting these species (Mouffok et al., 2008), special attention needs to be paid to the management of their fisheries.

Monitoring of sardine and anchovy stocks with acoustic surveys has been done regularly for more than a decade in several regions. These regions include the Alboran Sea and Northwest Mediterranean, the Adriatic (with the support of the AdriaMed Project) and the Aegean and Black Seas (GFCM, 2011c). The daily egg production method (DEPM) is currently applied routinely to assess anchovy stocks in the Aegean Sea and less regularly in the Northwest Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Southern Adriatic. In general, the results are used as ancillary information to the acoustic surveys and the model-based stock assessments. In the latest meeting of the different stock assessment Working Groups dealing with small pelagic fish, a total of 11 assessments were presented and discussed (GFCM, 2011c; Cardinale et al., 2010). The assessments covered sardine and anchovy stocks in seven GSAs. Most stocks were found to be fully exploited. About 30 percent of the stocks were assessed to be overexploited, with those of both sardine and anchovy in the Gulf of Lions and the stock of anchovy in the Strait of Sicily considered to be in particularly poor condition. In the Gulf of Lions, this situation was associated with previous overexploitation and a current state of very low productivity. In contrast, excessive current fishing pressure is considered to be the main cause of low catch for the stock of anchovy in the Strait of Sicily.
The GFCM Small Pelagics Working Group (GFCM, 2011c) analysed the global variations of several small pelagic stocks and fisheries across the Mediterranean. It concluded that there were signs of some synchronous variations that suggested an environmental effect overlaying the effect of fisheries on the stocks. The Working Group suggested that this effect needed to be further investigated.

The estimated biomasses and catches of the most common species of sturgeon: Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, Acipenser stellatus and Huso huso have all declined recently. This decline has been accentuated drastically since the late 1980s. Two species of sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum and Acipenser nudiventris) have almost disappeared. Experts attribute these declines to the combination of a reduction in spawning habitats by damming of rivers, large-scale illegal fishing and the alteration of the flow regime of the main rivers (Shlyakhov and Daskalov, 2008). The estimated abundance of the Azov Sea sturgeon stock for 2004–05 was only 5 percent of that at the beginning of the 1990s (Shlyakhov and Daskalov, 2008). It is now considered that all the stocks of sturgeon in the Black and Azov Seas are very severely overexploited.

Biomasses of these anadromous species have declined by about 75 percent or more compared with the 1970s. Unfavourable environmental conditions in the region’s rivers, especially the Danube River, may have affected the reproductive success of these species. However, overfishing on the northern and southern coasts of the Black Sea seems to have been the most important cause of the decline of these stocks (Radu, 2006). It is now considered that the stock of shad in the Black Sea is overexploited (Shlyakhov and Daskalov, 2008).

The sprat stock in the Black Sea supported intensive fishing by the former Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1970s. More recent increases in exploitation rate have caused a decline in stock biomass that has also been linked to the increase in the abundance of the predatory ctenophore Mnemiopsis leydi in the late 1980s (Daskalov, 1998; Shiganova and Bulgakova, 2000). After the late-1980s stock collapse, sprat recruitment, biomass and catches started to increase again. The stock had recovered to the previous peak-level recorded in the 1980s by the mid-2000s. With the recovery of fishing, fishing mortality increased from 0.1 in 1990 to 0.3 in 2000. The catch reached close to its historic levels (~70 000 tonnes) in 2001–05. The decreasing CPUE and mean catch size in Bulgarian and Romanian fisheries in 2006–07 indicate that the current level of fishing pressure might be excessive for the current stock (Shlyakov and Daskalov, 2008).

Anchovy is the single largest marine resource in the Black Sea. The biomass increased in the late 1970s and early 1980s at a time when catches were also increasing. This was apparently in response to increased nutrient inputs to the Black Sea (Oguz and Gilbert, 2007) and a reduction in predators due to fishing (Daskalov, Prodanov and Zengin, 2007). Anchovy stocks collapsed in the late 1980s, probably as a result of the combined effect of intensive fishing and increased predation and feeding competition with the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi (Oguz, Fach and Salihoglu, 2008). Fishing effort was subsequently reduced and this allowed anchovies to recover somewhat. However, anchovy biomass and catches have not returned to the previous levels. Despite this partial recovery, there is still substantial overcapitalization in anchovy fisheries, especially in the south and southeast of the Black Sea. It is believed that the stock of Black Sea anchovy is still being exploited above the level of sustainability.

In the Black Sea, whiting (Merlangius merlangus) is caught mainly as a bycatch of trawl fisheries targeting sprat and other species. The exception is in Turkey and Romania, where it is also a target species for a part of the fleet. Catches of whiting have fluctuated markedly in the last two decades (Shlyakov and Daskalov, 2008). However, the condition of the stock varies in different parts of the Black Sea. In general, the stock seems to be more heavily exploited in the southwest Black Sea than in the northeast region, where it is apparently in a better condition. This stock may have benefited from the relative recovery of the small pelagic stocks that allowed both an increase in prey and a reduction in fishing pressure.

Turbot (Psetta maxima) is the most important demersal species in the Black Sea, especially owing to its high value across the region. The stock of this species suffered very heavy exploitation in the 1970s and 1980s. It has partially recovered since then, as a result of increased restrictions on fishing being imposed by several nations, especially on the northern coasts of the Black Sea (Shlyakov and Daskalov, 2008). The latest information seems to indicate that this stock can be considered as fully exploited, although the components of the stock on the south coast may be overexploited already.

There are a number of major difficulties for adequate fisheries management in the region. These include: the overcapacity of the fleet, widely dispersed fleets dominated by small-scale vessels, a huge number of landing points, multispecies fisheries, and insufficient compliance and cooperation among countries in fisheries management. Despite this, there have been important improvements and achievements recently in the management of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries.