On October 2-3 2018, SponGES coordinator Hans Tore Rapp and FAO Senior Office Hassan Moustahfid spoke about deep-sea sponges at the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Permanent Committee of Management and Science (PECMAS) at NEAFC Headquarters, London, UK. This is part of a series of presentations and science-policy round tables by the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on SponGES project.