In order to revert alarming trends in the status of Mediterranean and Black Sea fish stocks, in which roughly 90 percent of the scientifically assessed stocks are currently considered to be fished outside of safe biological limits, the demand for scientific and technical advice on fisheries management is ever increasing. At the same time, advancements in fisheries science are occurring with unprecedented speed, thanks to new technologies; it is therefore essential that the scientific community, policy makers and NGO representatives stay abreast of these developments, ensuring capacity and synergies to meet the region’s challenges.

The Fish Forum 2018 was a key activity of the mid-term strategy (2017-2020) towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries, adopted as Resolution GFCM/40/2016/2. The importance of this event was also recalled in the Malta MedFish4Ever Declaration (30, March 2017) where the reinforcement of scientific knowledge was stressed.

The Fish Forum 2018, the first event of its kind in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, encompassed oceanographic, social science and economic perspectives on fisheries research. It therefore reviewed leading work that had been carried out, while also addressing the pillars for the development of fisheries science. It also took stock of progress made mainly towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, as well as other intrinsically interrelated SDGs, such as SDG 5 on gender equality, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth and SDG 13 on climate action.