Agriculture has traditionally been associated with the utilisation of land-based resources. However, large segments of the rural poor in Southeast Asia are dependent on living aquatic resources, whether as consumers, fishers in coastal and inland waters, or fish farmers. Policy research has only recently begun to renew its focus on fisheries, leaving a host of policy issues related to poverty reduction and sustainability relatively unexplored.

As a regional leader for agriculture and rural development, SEARCA has embarked on a collaborative research agenda for the fisheries sector, where many of the rural poor are dependent for their livelihood and food. To frame that agenda, the initial step was to conduct a set of expert reviews to synthesise what is known and not known, thereby highlighting important gaps in policy research. To this end, a conference participated in by top practitioners and researchers in the field of Southeast Asian fisheries was co-organised by SEARCA, WorldFish Center, and PCAMRD. Papers were presented and critiqued in discussions. Following the conference, the papers underwent further peer-review and technical editing.

This book contains the papers, including a synthesis of agenda for future research, presented during the conference. SEARCA offers this work as a handy reference material, providing insights to policy makers, researchers, and agricultural and rural development administrators to aid them in their decisionmaking processes.