A 10-year action plan to save small-scale fishing in the Mediterranean has been drafted following a high-level conference held in Malta.

Environment and fisheries ministers from across the Mediterranean region met in Malta between Monday and Wednesday to discuss the future of small-scale fisheries in the area.

The action plan, which was drafted this week, puts forward a set of objectives on scientific research that include information sharing between countries in the region, and collaborative studies.

Small-scale fisheries data was also on the agenda. The action plan calls for the setting up of fleet registers in all the countries that signed up, and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge into fisheries management. 

The countries also agreed to implement fisheries management plans.

Closing the conference, Fisheries Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri said 90% of fishing in Malta was considered artisanal and small scale. Ensuring the sustainability of this activity, he said, was vital for Malta. 

European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella said improvements had been made in recent years, but a lot still had to be done to secure the sustainability of the sector for the future.

He pointed to the setting up of a platform on small-scale fisheries that would see operators and regulators from across the region share information and discuss developments. Dialogue, he said, was essential.

Following the conference, the plan was agreed upon by Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Georgia, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Bulgaria, France, Lebanon, Libya, Slovenia and Turkey.

The conference brought together the European Commission, the World Wildlife Fund, and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

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