Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (GSA)

FAO promotes the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region

High-level representatives and experts gather to discuss challenges, opportunities

10/01/2025

High-level representatives and expertsfrom the European Union, Tunisia and Türkiye joined a FAO side event held on 5 December to promote the new Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (GSA) at the Regional Aquaculture Conference for the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, organized by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in Heraklion, Greece.

The side event, attended by a total of 80 participants from  23 GFCM members and 6 observers, examined how the GSA can address challenges and create opportunities for sustainable aquaculture development in the region and beyond.

The GSA are the first global normative instrument dedicated entirely to aquaculture, one of the world’s fastest-growing food production sectors. They were developed by FAO and its Members and can help achieve the targets set by the FAO Blue Transformation Roadmap 2022-2030.

In his opening remarks, FAO Senior Aquaculture Officer Matthias Halwart emphasized the potential for further development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, which is made up of 29 countries and which produced 3.3 million tonnes of aquatic foods in 2022.

“Practicing aquaculture in an environmentally sound, socially inclusive, and economically viable manner is vital to unlocking its full potential, and the GSA can help drive this effort in line with the GFCM 2030 Strategy,” Mr Halwart said.

“They serve as a tool to guide policy processes, decision-making, and action at all levels - local, national, regional, and global,” he added.

The importance of the GSA has been recognized widely, with both the G20 and G7 Agriculture Ministers identifying them as essential to building sustainable agrifood systems in their 2024 declarations.

Collaboration is key to implement the GSA

In his keynote speech, Xinhua Yuan, Deputy Director, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, highlighted that collaboration is essential to implement the GSA.

“FAO is here to support all stakeholders in the implementation of the GSA and the development of sustainable aquaculture,” he added.

He was echoed by Emilia Gargallo González, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.  

“Strategic coordination of all stakeholders is key when implementing the GSA,” she said. 

For Ms Gargallo González, what is special about the GSA is that they contain a shared and agreed vision for sustainable aquaculture, developed through a transparent and cooperative process.

“The GSA are not legally binding. But they build on an agreed vision of FAO Members,” she said.

Now it is time to act, she affirmed: “Responsible and proactive authorities can make the start and streamline the GSA into governance and planning,” she said.

Farmers and consumers also need to be on board

Ferit Rad, Head of the Department of Aquaculture at the University of Mersin Faculty of Fisheries, Türkiye, who also serves as the coordinator of the GFCM Technical Advisory Group on Value Chains and Market Access, emphasized that “the availability and quality of aquatic foods is increasingly demanded by consumers.”

“As a result, the adoption of the GSA is also influenced by market dynamics,” Prof Rad said, adding that the GSA are relevant for all countries and stakeholders, at any stage of development of their aquaculture industries.

“The GSA offer comprehensive guidance, opening doors for all stakeholders worldwide,” he said.

However, action must be bottom up as well as top down.

“Farmers need to be convinced that implementing the GSA will make their businesses more efficient and competitive and that sustainable practices will be to their advantage, because their profits will increase,” said Prof Rad.

Naoufel Romdhane, Deputy Director of Aquaculture at the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Tunisia, emphasized that the implementation of the GSA must be carried out at every level, in alignment with existing legal, strategic, and policy frameworks.

“The reluctance of the private sector, particularly small-scale producers, to adopt sustainable practices is primarily due to a lack of awareness, funding, and a clear understanding of the benefits these practices offer,” he pointed out.

Mr Romdhane believes targeted awareness campaigns and effective incentive mechanisms can foster small-scale producers’ participation.

“By securing funding, strengthening capacities and engaging all relevant stakeholders - including the private sector and local communities - we can position aquaculture as a cornerstone of sustainability,” he concluded.

Similar initiatives to promote the GSA will be held at the next session of the FAO Sub-Committee on Aquaculture as well as in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near East, North America and Southwest Pacific.