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ABSTRACT

The seventeenth session of the Information System for the Promotion of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean (SIPAM) was held in FAO headquarters (Rome, Italy) on 5–6 May 2026 and brought together SIPAM national focal points (NFPs) from 14 countries to discuss updates, challenges and future steps related to aquaculture data reporting and dissemination. The session reviewed intersessional activities carried out under the SIPAM framework, including progress on platform modernization, aquaculture data collection and reporting, quality assessment, capacity development and technical assistance. Discussions underlined SIPAM’s role in supporting harmonized and comparable aquaculture statistics across the Mediterranean and Black Sea, its contribution to the SoMFi 2025 indicators, and the importance of digital tools, data governance and confidentiality in improving data accessibility and analysis. Based on these discussions, SIPAM NFPs agreed on a set of conclusions, recommendations and a workplan for 2026–2028 to be submitted to the fourteenth session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture. These focus on further strengthening SIPAM platform functionalities, enhancing data quality and confidentiality frameworks, advancing harmonized methodologies, particularly for socioeconomic data, and reinforcing regional collaboration and targeted technical support to countries.