To manage fisheries, information about fishers, catch and effort, fish stocks, fish processing and trade is needed. Information, its collection, analysis and evaluation are central in this course. Information forms the basis for policy choices, management plans, monitoring and evaluations. In the ecosystem approach to fisheries the scope of management activities (and the information needed) is extended beyond the topics and groups mentioned to include the mutual influence of fishing and the ecosystem of which the fish are part plus the effects of other human activities on the aquatic ecosystem. The course ‘Ecosystem approach to Fisheries’ will discuss the selection, analysis and evaluation of the data that are needed, and will assist you to make the step from a target species oriented approach towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The course is useful for staff from both government and NGO who are working in fisheries management, research, higher education, training and fisheries development.