The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department has broad expertise in global fisheries and aquaculture ranging from information and statistics to economics and policy, management, conservation, products and industry. In order to provide an easily accessible overview of this knowledge to a wide audience as well as a technical background to its activities, the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department maintains this suite of briefs and connected documents related to the main topics and issues it deals with when fulfilling its mandate. 

The briefs are organized under six thematic areas:

Fisheries statistics and information: covering international cooperation, data collection and analyses of status and trends

Ecosystems: covering inland, coastal and marine ecosystems, and impacts on ecosystems

Fishery resources: covering capture fishery and aquaculture resources

Fishery technology: covering capture and culture technology

Utilization and trade of fish and fishery Products

Fisheries governance: covering the institutional framework, fishery development, and management of capture fisheries and aquaculture

They feature key points of interest and issues faced by governments, industry, scientists, NGOs, consumers, the media and the public at large in relation to fisheries and aquaculture. They provide access to additional information and links to related fact sheets, publications, statistics and Web sites.

This collection does not pretend to be exhaustive as the sector is in constant evolution and operates in a changing economic, political and climatic context. These briefs are more or less developed depending on their current and historical importance in the Department's work.