This document contains the report of the twenty-fourth session of the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) held in Rome, Italy, from 5 to 8 February 2013. This was the first session after the Aquaculture and Fishery subject Groups were formally established. Two subject Groups had their own meetings to review the progress made and develop work plan for the next intersessional period prior to the main session. The main session received the report from the two Groups and approved the work plans presented. Other main topics discussed were the revision of International Statistical Standard Classifications of Fishing Gears (ISSCFG), the revision and future dissemination of the CWP Handbook, the review of status of "Rules of Procedure" and the improvement in visibility of CWP.

The Committee examined its work since the First Session, undertook an appraisal of FAO's fisheries research-related programmes and elaborated the Committee's work for the intersessional period (1999-2000).

The Committee expressed concern about the level of fishing capacity which was higher than prior to the 2004 tsunami in some of the areas affected by the disaster and recognized that it called for the design and implementation of sustainable and effective fisheries management arrangements that included a gradually phasing out fishing overcapacity, monitoring, access and livelihood considerations. The Committee reaffirmed its trust in FAO to play a coordinating role in advancing the global aquaculture agenda and highlighted the importance of addressing socio-economic impacts of aquaculture and other issues, such as improving planning and policy development at national and regional levels. The Committee agreed to give greater attention to small-scale fisheries and welcomed the convening of a broad-based international conference focusing specifically on small-scale fisheries.

Following to the approval of the third session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) Sub-Committee on Aquaculture (New Delhi, 2006), and the twenty-seventh session of COFI (Rome, 2007) to establish an interregional mechanism for aquaculture similar to the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP-FS), the Workshop was called to address the need for data and information coordination in aquaculture and objectives, characteristics and structure suitable for the Coordinating Working Party for Aquaculture (CWP-AS). After reviewing the data and information requirements in aquaculture and existing gaps in data collection, the necessity to harmonize standards for data, information and statistics, the relations between capture fishery and aquaculture, and structure and activities of CWP-FS, the Workshop reaffirmed the need for a mechanism to identify, establish and harmonize standards for aquaculture data, information and statistics. The Workshop recommended the establishment of the CWP-AS within the framework of the CWP-FS, but with its own terms of reference (TORs), rules of procedure and composition to reflect the specific needs of the aquaculture sector. The Workshop further developed a detailed proposal of functions and structure of such a body including TORs, composition and operational aspects which are attached as Appendix 3.

The Working Party finalized a review of chlorinated hydrocarbon substances in the African aquatic environment; the review is annexed to this report. The Working Group concluded that it had achieved its major goal to evaluate the state of the African aquatic environment and to review major groups of pollutants that could have negative impacts on aquatic life and fishery resources, i.e. organic matter, metals and organochlorine substances. Future studies could concentrate on phosphorus loads causing eutrophication and on the state of specific types of water bodies in Africa. The Working Party discussed its potential role in the preparations for the CIFA Seminar on African inland fisheries, aquaculture and the environment, scheduled for December 1994, and made suggestions for major inputs it could provide to the seminar.