The importance of aquaculture production in developing countries is reviewed briefly. Two sets of barriers to realizing the potential of aquaculture to alleviate poverty and improve food security and nutrition are identified: those directly attributable to aquaculture development policies and those arising from a lack of policy coherence for development (PCD). The latter applies to a wide range of sectors, the most important from an aquaculture perspective being energy, environment, agriculture and food production, and trade and sanitary standards. Lack of PCD is apparent at many levels: within development cooperation policies, between aid and non-aid policies within a single donor and between donors, and donor-partner coherence to achieve shared development objectives.