These guidelines have been produced to supplement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The Code and many international agreements and conferences highlight the many benefits that can be achieved by adopting an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) and elaborate a number of agreed principles and concepts relating to EAF. These guidelines provide guidance on how to translate the economic, social and ecological policy goals and aspirations of sustainable development into operational objectives, indicators and performance measures. They are not seen as a replacement for, but rather an extension of, current fisheries management practices that need to be broadened to take into account the biotic, abiotic and human components of ecosystems in which fisheries operate. Although there are many gaps in our current knowledge of ecosystems and how they function, these guidelines stress that uncertainty should not prevent the development of operational objectives aimed at improving human well-being as well as protecting and improving the status of marine coastal ecosystems.