FAO Fisheries Report No. 735
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES RESEARCH

Report of the
Second Session of the Working Party on Small-Scale Fisheries

Bangkok, Thailand, 18 - 21 November 2003

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ISBN 92-5-105099-6
ISSN 0429-9337

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© FAO 2004

FAO/Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research.

Report of the second session of the Working Party on Small-scale Fisheries. Bangkok, Thailand, 18-21 November 2003.

FAO Fisheries Report. No. 735. Rome, FAO. 2004. 21p.

ABSTRACT

The Working Party on Small-scale Fisheries of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR) held its Second Session in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18 to 21 November 2003. The Working Party was composed of 19 experts from 15 countries, covering a range of disciplines and activities connected with small-scale fisheries, taking into account geographical and gender balance. The participants agreed on a Vision Statement and on a Characterization of small-scale fisheries as well as on a research agenda of five main themes: Policy and institutional arrangements, Contribution, relevance and importance of small-scale fisheries to national economies and livelihoods, Management approaches to small-scale fisheries, Post-harvest issues and trade and Information systems for small-scale fisheries. The Session identified strategies to bridge the gap between research and action and provided preliminary ideas on key elements to be included in the proposed draft technical guidelines on increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and poverty alleviation. The Working Party elaborated preliminary drafts of two separate technical documents namely: (i) Contribution, role and importance of small-scale fisheries and (ii) Research agenda for small-scale fisheries including terms of reference on some thematic topics. It requested the Secretariat to finalize the documents and submit them to ACFR at its Fifth Session.