Reporting of fisheries and aquaculture data by contracting parties and cooperating non-contracting parties (CPCs) is central to the work of the GFCM. The Fisheries Data Collection Reference Framework (DCRF), for fisheries data, and the Information System for the Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (SIPAM), for aquaculture data, provide the standardized frameworks through which CPCs report and submit data to the GFCM. These data are essential for the formulation of sound scientific advice by the GFCM scientific advisory bodies, namely the Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (SAC), the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Black Sea (ACBS) and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ).