The state of the world's fish stocks and aquaculture are reviewed by the Fishery Resources Division every two years for FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The review formerly included all capture fisheries, but for the Twentieth Session of COFI it was separated into two parts: the world’s marine resources, and inland fisheries and aquaculture, identified respectively as Part 1 and Part 2 of the FAO Fisheries Circular No. 710. Due to the increased importance of aquaculture production, the review was produced in three parts for the Twenty-first Session of COFI, March 1995, each part as a separate document under the same title: "Review of the State of World Fishery Resources". The document dealing with aquaculture was issued in 1995 as FAO Fisheries Circular No. 886.

This Circular updates the information provided in FAO Fisheries Circular No. 886, Review of the State of World Fishery Resources: Aquaculture, published in 1995. It is intended that the Review of the State of World Aquaculture will be completely revised every six years, with updates provided biennially.

The various sections of this review have been produced by the authors indicated in the Table of Contents. Z. Shehadeh was responsible for the general co-ordination and final editing of this document, with the valuable assistance of Mr. J. Maclean. Some authors also co-ordinated parts of the review which consisted of contributions from two or more authors: M. Pedini (Regional Reviews: Africa); A.G. Tacon (Regional Reviews: Asia); Z. Shehadeh and D. Bartley (Development Trends in Selected Areas). Illustrations and tables were prepared by the authors.

This paper updates the regular review of world aquaculture, based mainly on national statistics provided to FAO by its Members through 1995. The review is prepared in three parts. The first provides a global perspective of production and production trends, and the contribution of the sector to food fish supplies. It identifies some of the major strategic issues facing aquaculture development and presents a rough estimation of production by the year 2000. The second part reviews developments and trends in some important fields, including environmental interactions, biodiversity and genetics, feed resources, fish health and quarantine, regulatory frameworks, product safety, international trade, and international aid to research and development. The third part reviews production and production trends, as well as main development issues and outlook on a regional basis, for each of seven regions: Asia, Africa, Europe, Former USSR Area, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania.