The FAIRSEA project aims at enhancing transnational capacity and cooperation in the field of an ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Adriatic region by exchanging knowledge and sharing good practices among partners. The complementary expertise of the partners is shared, interlinked and integrated, considering also challenges and opportunities identified by stakeholders. The efforts are embedded in a spatially explicit management platform that will allow to share expertise, create a common pool of knowledge, boost the operational application of the ecosystem approach to fisheries, enhance the competence in complex system dynamics, and foster a consensus on the state of the environment and fisheries in the region. The process developed in FAIRSEA will provide an opportunity to describe best practices and define guidelines for a sustainable fishery management.