This report presents a summary of the presentations and discussions of the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP) and Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR) Joint Working Party on Poverty in Small-Scale Fisheries - Promoting the Contribution of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in Poverty Alleviation. The objectives of the meeting were to (i) share experience and knowledge on this subject; (ii) identify clearly how the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries could serve as a tool in poverty alleviation in fishing communities; (iii) identify critical knowledge gaps and research needs; and (iv) elaborate a project framework and research methodologies. The meeting benefited from earlier discussions of this subject matter at the Third Session of ACFR, December 2000, and the CEMARE, SFLP/FAO Cotonou Workshop, November 2001, and the background papers prepared for them. The meeting agreed on the urgent need to obtain a better understanding of the manifestations and extent of poverty in fishing communities and on the causal factors of the dynamics of poverty. It recommended the development of appropriate guidance material on poverty assessment and poverty alleviation measures in small-scale fisheries including the application of the SLA and the potential contribution of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
