Six plenary session will be held during the VI Iberian Congress of Ichthyology SIBIC2016 and the organization has invited speakers of international relevance. Among them will be Maria Teresa Ferreira, Full Professor at the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Landscape, University of Lisbon.

The plenary will be in English with the following topic:

Fish as biological indicators of ecological status, a pan-European approach

This session will focus in an overall description and appraisal of the current situation of fish species, and fish metrics, as indicators of ecological status in Europe. It will review the process of building up these indicators in the last decade, and the comparability across countries. Also, the results of the first and second exercise of river basin management, planning, and implementation sensu Water Framework Directive will be compared and analyzed, and it will identify the main problems and pressures that persist, and how these affect the fish communities. Finally, the gaps that still exist to complete a thorough assessment of ecological quality based on fish will be evaluated in all aquatic environments.