Red Books first started being published in Portugal in the early 1990s: the first, focused on Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, was published in 1990; the second, focused on Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes, was published in 1991; and the final volume published in 1993 assessed Marine and Estuarine Fishes. After 30 years, most taxonomic groups have had national assessment updates; however, marine fishes were left behind. With one of the largest European Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and over 1,000 species of marine fishes, it is of extreme importance to know the status of marine biodiversity to define conservation strategies and inform marine development strategies. This ambitious project is being led by Oceanário de Lisboa and the Oceano Azul Foundation, with the technical support of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and financial support from the City Council of Lisbon (CML). It is expected to be completed by 2023.

This Red Book will follow IUCN’s Red List Guidelines for Regional and National Assessments and count on the participation of researchers and ichthyologists from all over mainland Portugal, Azores, and Madeira.

Due to the relatively low number of marine assessments on the Red List, when compared to those of other systems, Oceanário has been focused on the Assess step of the Assess-Plan-Act Cycle, as it is essential to know what needs protection before designing conservation measures. This commitment has resulted in Catarina Fonseca’s participation in several of MBU’s assessment projects by collating data for, facilitating, or reviewing almost 600 assessments of marine bony fishes, as well as participating in two international assessment workshops, as of 2022.

In 2019, the Public Aquarium Species Assessment Project was started to assess all Not Evaluated (NE) marine vertebrate and invertebrate species in public aquariums, starting with Oceanário de Lisboa’s and The Deep´s animal collection. The information collected is then used to better inform collection planning, conservation, and education messages, ex situ conservation activities, and allocation of funding to in situ conservation projects.