The report of the twentieth session of the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP), Victoria, Seychelles, 21-24 January 2003, is presented. Topics discussed were: changes in membership of CWP; review of recommendations from CWP-19; reports of intersessional meetings; reports on intersessional developments in Agency programmes in fishery statistics; elasmobranch and bycatch statistics; national data collection methodologies and data quality; proposals for an advocacy role for CWP; catch and aquaculture terminology; vessel identifiers; proposed FAO strategy on improving information on status and trends of capture fisheries; a report on the Second FIGIS-FIRMS Ad Hoc Meeting, 20 January 2003, Victoria, Seychelles; STATLANT issues (statistical areas; International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishing Vessels (ISSCFV); socio-economic indicators; environmental sustainability indicators; fishery statistics for Southeast Asia); and the CWP Handbook of Fishery Statistical Standards.
