1. At the Eleventh Session of the FAO Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 24 to 27 October 2000, the prospects for sustainable commercial aquaculture development in Africa were discussed. It was pointed out that commercial aquaculture was catalytic to food security, hunger reduction and poverty alleviation through economic growth and employment generation, particularly at a time when fish production from capture fisheries in many countries had reached their assumed maximum sustainable yield (paragraph 50 FAO Fisheries Report No. 644). In order to partially respond to this real need of the Members, the Technical Consultation on Legal Frameworks and Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Commercial Aquaculture in Africa South of the Sahara was held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, from 4 to 7 December 2001.
2. The Consultation was attended by representatives from 16 Member countries of FAO as well as by observers from one intergovernmental organization and seven observers from the private sector. The list of delegates and observers is given in Appendix B. The documents which were distributed before the Consultation are listed in Appendix C.
