Toward a multi-sectoral framework for sustainable fisheries management in the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas

Ensuring the sustainability of fisheries has become a major global challenge in the face of increasing pressures on marine ecosystems. Addressing this challenge requires integrated assessment approaches that consider not only environmental performance, but also the socio-economic and governance dimensions that determine long-term sustainability. Within this context, a systematic review of literature together with official institutional reports was conducted to develop a comprehensive indicator-based framework for assessing fisheries sustainability from an ecosystem-based perspective. The resulting framework comprises 51 indicators, integrates scientific, institutional, and technical sources related to fisheries activity and is hierarchically structured across multiple analytical levels to support consistent comparisons between contrasting fisheries systems and identify sustainability hotspots at regional and stock levels. The framework was applied to two European marine regions with contrasting ecological and management contexts: the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Iberian Coast, and the Western Mediterranean. The analysis combined a regional-scale assessment with a species-level evaluation of three representative fish stocks. Results showed marked regional differences: 61% of assessed stocks were overexploited in the Western Mediterranean, compared with 16% in the Atlantic. European hake showed the most critical stock-level condition in the Western Mediterranean, with fishing pressure reaching 3.5 times the level compatible with maximum sustainable yield. In the Atlantic, more favourable environmental conditions were accompanied by higher stock productivity and comparatively stronger socio-economic performance. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed framework for identifying sustainability hotspots, supporting cross-regional comparisons, and providing scientific evidence to inform fisheries policy and adaptive management.