The National Seminar on the Reduction and Management of Commercial Fishing Capacity in Thailand took place from 11 to 14 May 2004 in Cha-Am, Thailand, and was attended by 78 participants and observers, including senior officials from the Department of Fisheries and other relevant Government departments. Representatives of associations of the commercial fishing industry, leaders of smallscale coastal fishers, national and international resource persons and representatives of bilateral and multilateral agencies also attended. The principal objective of the National Seminar was to contribute to the development of a national strategy for the reduction and management of commercial fishing capacity in Thailand. This is in keeping with international commitments, particularly those relating to the 1992 Convention on Biodiversity, the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 1999 International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, the 2001 ASEAN Plan of Action on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security and the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. The first day plenary session was devoted to formal presentations that emphasized the link between overcapacity in fisheries and the serious decline in variety of stocks and in biomass. It also provided some focus on the experience of other countries in reducing fishing capacity. On the second day Seminar participants broke into separate working groups to address the problems of overcapacity in (i) the demersal fisheries and (ii) the anchovy fisheries. Through these groups an approach to tackling the problem of overcapacity was developed. Working group findings were reported back to plenary on the third day of the Seminar, which was also devoted to preparations for a Policy Dialogue Meeting. This Meeting, which constituted the final session of the seminar, brought additional senior Government officials into the discussion. Participants recognized that it was essential to undertake certain preliminary actions be undertaken before it would be possible to actually reduce Thailand’s fleet capacity. These included recording details of all vessels, whether fishing legally or not, and then clamping down on all unlicensed fishing. Without the capacity to stop illegal fishing, it would not be possible to bring about a reduction in capacity. The construction of new boats also needs to be regulated. The National Seminar succeeded in providing the Government of Thailand with a valuable opportunity to consult widely with stakeholders and provided specific guidelines for further developing a strategy for reducing commercial fishing capacity in Thailand.