This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 4 2026.
Ten years after the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) entered into force, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is marking major progress against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The PSMA, the first legally binding international agreement specifically targeting IUU fishing, has made it significantly harder for illegally caught fish to enter markets. A key milestone this year involves two Global Environment Facility funded projects, which equipped advanced vessel monitoring system (VMS) transponders to most of the Turkish industrial fleet, which consists of over 850 vessels and accounts for the highest capture production in the GFCM area of application. Together with the new Marmara Fisheries Control Centre in Yalova, they strengthen regional monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) capacity in the region and allow for real-time tracking and automated alerts for restricted-area violations.
Montenegro and Albania will deploy similar VMS technology on small-scale fleets later this year, while inspectors trained across Malta, Spain and Türkiye work toward harmonized methods for assessing IUU activity. Albania, Georgia and Ukraine have launched national action plans against IUU fishing, with Türkiye’s plan to follow soon.
