Book excerpt: This is the report of the Expert Consultation on the Proposed Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries, held at the request of the 23rd Session of COFI in the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 to 29 February 2000. The expert consultation confirmed that the growing importance of aquaculture, including culture-based fisheries, and its interactions justified a focused global intergovernmental mechanism to provide the opportunity for information exchange, discussion and consensus-building among the various parties interested in aquaculture development and to establish an efficient means of advising and guiding COFI and FAO. The consultation concluded that establishment of such a subcommittee would be in line with FAO Conference Resolution 13/97 and that the expenditure of funds for the subcommittee would be justified. They identified the major issues and six key priority areas that need to be addresse, emphasizing that the role of aquaculture for enhancing food security and economic development in FAO member countries was a primary priority.