Proposals should focus on at least one of the themes below:

• Improve or update the available scientific knowledge to advise the European Commission on proposing new fisheries conservation and management measures or reviewing the existing ones within the CFP context, including its international dimension.
• Optimise the collection and use of samples and collected scientific data under the Data Collection Framework or under any other data collection or monitoring initiatives at national/regional or EU level.
• Adapt the scientific advice currently provided for the CFP to the upcoming challenges affecting fisheries management such as climate change, and related changes in ecosystems.
• Improve methodological aspects of the design, collection and/or management of the data collected that will benefit the scientific advisory process.
• Strengthen scientific knowledge to assess and monitor the impact of fisheries on the structure, function and dynamics of marine ecosystems, and their associated services.
• Increase understanding of stock structures, life histories, food webs and multispecies interactions.
• Increase understanding and operationalisation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) to further develop capacity to provide advice using environmental, social and economic information, including through quantitative analysis.
• Strengthen scientific and operational knowledge to monitor and assess the impact of fisheries on vulnerable and sensitive species with a view to identify biologically sensitive areas, hot-spots by-catch areas and mitigation measures to monitor and control mortalities.
• Support the EU scientific community, in developing and maintaining the relevant expertise to provide high quality scientific advice to inform fisheries management.
• Support the involvement of policy stakeholders and citizens in the provision of fisheries data, the process of the production of scientific advice, and the communication of scientific results.
• Increase monitoring and understanding on the impact of other human activities and threats to fisheries stocks and linked ecosystems.

The following activities can be funded under this call (non-exhaustive list):

• collection and processing of samples and/or data in the field falling outside the scope of national data collection programmes (e.g. environmental samples, biological samples, social and economic data);
• harmonise and/or improve protocols of data collection, handling and management to serve the scientific advisory process;
• trials (e.g. exploring methods for improving surveys, collection of data, monitoring methods, risk assessments);
• meta-analysis, data validation and/or data preparation to feed into models;
• modelling: development, improvement, operationalising, testing and/or validation of models (e.g. adding age error matrices, incorporating environmental, social and/or economic drivers, considering multispecies interactions, adjusting models to geographical areas);
• developing methodologies for stocks evaluations including refining of Stock assessment parameters, or including data-limited methods and those suitable providing advice on very rare sensitive species;
• expanding current databases or creating new databases and link with existing initiatives with the aim of improving data quality and serving scientific advice;
• developing new advice formats or frequencies.

In addition, projects should develop networking activities between EU scientists and/or with EU fishing industry (e.g. multidisciplinary analysis, workshops, benchmark meetings, stakeholders’ consultations, networking of existing samples, etc.).