The GFCM has always been committed to providing its contracting parties, cooperating non-contracting parties (CPCs) and other partners – in particular, farmer organizations – with technical support, whenever needed and requested. To this end, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ) was established in 1995 and aims to enhance the sustainable farming of aquatic foods as a means towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on small-scale producers. The GFCM, in accordance with its 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, continues to assist its CPCs in realizing the potential of aquaculture and ensuring food security and livelihoods of local societies, while reducing the sector’s footprint. Capacity building is at the heart of GFCM technical assistance activities and includes the identification of allocated zones for aquaculture (AZA) in marine and inland waters, use of geographic information systems (GIS) within AZA processes, estimation of environmental monitoring programmes (EMP) and carrying capacity, promotion of best practices, and organization of aquaculture censuses.