This brief is an outcome of an international consultation on the subject, jointly organized by ICLARM, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Institute for Fishery Management and Coastal Community Development (IFM), held on 3-5 June 1997 at the North Sea Centre, Hirtshals, Denmark. It outlines the imperatives facing the policymakers concerned with the threat posed to small-scale fisheries producers and to sustainable food security inmany parts of the world. In the context of the current transition in the fisheries sector, the brief summmarizes the critical research areas which will identify and support the formulation of policy at the local, national and international levels.