Report of the twenty-seventh session of the committee on fisheries Rome, 5-9 March 2007 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture report Series, Vol. 830

The Committee expressed concern about the level of fishing capacity which was higher than prior to the 2004 tsunami in some of the areas affected by the disaster and recognized that it called for the design and implementation of sustainable and effective fisheries management arrangements that included a gradually phasing out fishing overcapacity, monitoring, access and livelihood considerations. The Committee reaffirmed its trust in FAO to play a coordinating role in advancing the global aquaculture agenda and highlighted the importance of addressing socio-economic impacts of aquaculture and other issues, such as improving planning and policy development at national and regional levels. The Committee agreed to give greater attention to small-scale fisheries and welcomed the convening of a broad-based international conference focusing specifically on small-scale fisheries.