The last assessment of this fishery was carried out in 2016.
It is unclear how the stocks of gilthead seabream in the Mediterranean Sea are doing. No reliable stock assessments are available, and fishing pressure cannot be properly determined. Due to the species’ life history, it is moderately vulnerable to overfishing.
Fishing with handlines and longlines has little bycatch of vulnerable (ETP) species, low levels of discards and causes virtually no damage to the ecosystem or the seabed. Fishing with pots is also likely to have little bycatch and a limited impact on the seabed, but fewer data are available and discard levels are expected to be slightly higher. Handlines and longlines are therefore the more sustainable choice.
Management is considered insufficiently effective. There is no specific management plan for gilthead seabream in the Mediterranean Sea, and the lack of data makes it difficult to properly assess the effectiveness of existing measures. There is no MSC certification available for these fisheries.