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The aims of the project entitled Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean Trawl Fisheries (REBYC-II LAC) are to reduce food loss and support sustainable livelihoods by improving the management of bycatch and minimizing discards and sea-bed damage, thereby transforming bottom trawl fisheries into responsible fisheries.. The REBYC-II LAC project covers four integrated components: (i) improved collaborative institutional and regulatory arrangements for bycatch management; (ii) strengthening management and optimizing utilization of bycatch within the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) framework; (iii) sustainable livelihoods, diversification and alternatives; and (iv) project progress monitoring and information dissemination. The project is part of the FAO activities in support to the implementation of the International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards, which were endorsed by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) at its Twenty-ninth Session (February 2011). In addition, the project directly supports the FAO’s five Strategic Objectives. In particular, it will support Strategic Objective 2 (increasing and improving the provision of goods and service from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner), Strategic Objective 3 (Reducing Rural Poverty) and Strategic Objective 4 (Enabling a more inclusive and efficient agricultural food systems.    The main objectives of the Work Planning workshop were to (i) revise and specify the 2015-2016 national and regional workplans; (ii) review and agree on the financial, administrative, and managerial aspects of the project and (iii) define the next steps in the activities. The workshop was attended by national focal points of the six project countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago). Other participants included representatives of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Central America Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (OSPESCA), the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), the Centre for Development Cooperation in Fisheries (Institute Marine Research, Norway), the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC) and representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago fisheries sectors. FAO was represented by officers from the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch (FIRO), the FAO GEF Coordination Unit, the sub-regional Office for the Caribbean (RLC), as well as the newly established Project Coordination Unit at FAO sub-regional office for the Caribbean. Achievements of the workshop included: (i) the review and establishment of the administrative and management arrangements of the project; (ii) the review and adjustments to country workplans and budgets for 2015-2016, including formalization of national activities; and (iii) agreement on the next steps for project implementation.