In anticipation of the first World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development, this Briefing Paper examines the role of developing countries in world fisheries. The paper looks at the problems facing developing countries in their attempts to exploit their own fisheries potential and the range of issues that the Conference is expected to raise. The paper concludes that meeting the expected demands of the next fifteen years will require the commitment of both developed and developing states. This will only be achieved through a major stimulus to developing country fish production.