Fish and fisheries – both marine and inland – are an intrinsic part of the livelihoods of many in developing countries. Recent work indicates the important contribution to food security made by fish caught as a part-time occupation of essentially agricultural households. The interface between the resource and people’s livelihoods – especially those of the landless development – has so far been largely disregarded in the policies of governments and donors, which tend to be dominated by high seas fishing interests and other aspects of sectoral policy. Considerations of this kind suggest that a review of the orientation of fisheries policies would be opportune.