The Workshop on Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Assessment of Small-Scale Fisheries (Rome, 20–22 September 2005) was organized jointly by the WorldFish Center and FAO through its FishCode Programme as a first step in developing a collaborative project towards capacity building for small-scale fisheries assessment in developing countries. Participants represented various international and national agencies and academic institutions as well as private firms, and were invited on the basis of their extensive experience in small-scale fisheries either from a natural or social science background.