The objective of the Symposium is to identify pathways to strengthen the science and policy interplay in fisheries production, management and trade, based on solid sustainability principles, for improved outcomes in practice. Ultimately, the debates and conclusions of the Symposium will prepare the way for the development of a new vision for capture fisheries, outlining how the sector can respond to the complex and rapidly changing challenges facing society and support the planning process of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). The main output of the Symposium will be a technical document addressing the questions described above. This document, the result of synthesizing the information and debate in each of the Symposium sessions, will be prepared by the FAO Secretariat and tabled at the 34th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI). It will include quantitative information on sustainability status, examples of best management and partnership practices, and recommendations on how to better connect evidence and policy to secure fisheries sustainability in the twenty-first century.