Matters pertaining to procedure were discussed at a meeting, held in Mexico City on 11 June 1967, of the officers of the Conference and members of the Consultative Group who could attend (Appendix 1). The provisional agenda (Appendix 2) was approved and it was agreed that each convenor should present at the opening of his session a summary of the relevant technical papers. Authors would then be invited to give a brief resumé of their contribution, after which the subject would be held open for discussion.
The task of the rapporteurs and the procedure for establishing working parties were examined; it was decided that convenors of agenda sections and of working parties should submit their reports and recommendations for discussion and approval in the plenary session.
A Sub-Committee was established to decide which of the papers presented should be included in the Proceedings of the Conference which FAO intended to publish later.
It was decided that the order of speakers during the inaugural session would follow Mexican protocol. Due to the absence abroad of Lic. O. Campos Salas, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Honorary President of the Conference, and Lic. J. Echaniz Ruvalcaba, Director-General of Fisheries, their place would be taken by Lic. P. García Reynoso, the Ministry's First Sub-Secretary, and Lic. A. Cervantes Delgado, Deputy Director of the Ministry's Department of Economic and Fisheries Affairs.
2.1 Inaugural session
Before delivering the opening address (Appendix 3), Lic. Cervantes Delgado read a telegram sent by the Honorary President, regretting his inability to inaugurate the Conference and wishing it every success. Dr. S. J. Holt, Director of the Fishery Resources and Exploitation Division of FAO's Department of Fisheries, then spoke on behalf of Dr. B. R. Sen, Director-General, (Appendix 4). Lic. P. García Reynoso, representing the Mexican Government, formally declared the Conference open and expressed the hope that its findings would contribute to the solution of the problems encountered in increasing the world's food supply.
The Conference having been declared open, the Representative of the Director-General of FAO announced the name of the Chairman (Dr. C. P. Idyll, U. S. A.) and the Vice-Chairman (Prof. J. L. Cifuentes Lemus, Mexico; Dr. M. Fujinaga, Japan; and Dr. M. Massuti, Spain).
2.2 Adoption of the agenda
The Chairman submitted the provisional agenda for consideration by the Conference and it was unanimously adopted. He then summarized the discussions and decisions reached by the officers of the Conference regarding the procedure for presentation of papers to the Plenary Session, and stated that the names of the convenors and rapporteurs would be announced later.
Dr. M. Ruivo, Representative of the FAO Department of Fisheries, reviewed briefly the activities of the Department, as a background for proposals for action that might result from the Conference.
