Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission. Report of the fourth session of the Scientific Advisory Group, Merida, Mexico, 2-4 Aril 2007 (FAO fisheries report N° 842) Trilingual En/Fr/Es

Major topics discussed during the session were: the state of fisheries in the WECAFC region, the status and trends of fisheries and aquaculture, the decisions of the twenty-seventh session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and the twelfth session of WECAFC, intersessional activities and projects, factors of unsustainability and overexploitation in marine fisheries, fisheries social science, and coordination and collaboration in fisheries science in the region. The decisions of the twenty-seventh session of COFI have implications for the work of WECAFC, especially in areas such as small-scale fisheries, subsidies, marine protected areas and bycatch reduction. The meeting identified weak management and poor governance as major problems in WECAFC member countries. Training and capacity building, to reinforce management, were identified as areas for donor support. The need for incorporating the human dimension in fisheries governance to ensure that outputs and outcomes contribute meaningfully to human well-being was highlighted.