Comparison of technical measures in the Aegean Sea to support harmonization of fisheries management policies

The Aegean Sea features an important archipelago in the Eastern Mediterranean, consisting of 60 inhabited islands, more than 1400 uninhabited islands, about 60–70 commercial marine taxa, along many vulnerable species. Fisheries are mainly coastal and are exploited by Greek and Turkish fishers. The multi-species and multi-gear fisheries operate within each country’s 6-nautical mile territorial sea and in the international waters of the Aegean Sea. As the fisheries resources are currently declining in this region, it is clear that current management initiatives are ineffective and would benefit from a new regime aiming to improve the state of the commercial marine resources. This study offers a comparative analysis of certain fishing gear technical measures applied by Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Identified differences can provide clear and helpful insights for decision-makers for the development of a new and productive management approach in Aegean waters. The fishery regulations were shown to be highly variable, sharing few similarities and stressing many more differences, thus rendering the current management of the shared fish stocks unsustainable. The resources of both states would greatly benefit from the harmonization of management measures focusing on an ecosystem approach to fisheries, and incorporating fishers as stakeholders.