The tsunami of 26 December 2004 has killed an estimated 300,000 people and devastated the livelihoods of millions of coastal people, many of them poor fishers, fish farmers and their families. The swift and dedicated emergency relief response by affected countries and the international community have largely met the immediate basic needs of survivors and averted widespread hunger and disease. As short-term relief is largely complete, the challenge for the affected countries and the international community is to judiciously and efficiently use the unprecedented generous assistance by public and private donors in order to rehabilitate in a sustainable and equitable manner the millions of livelihoods that were affected by the tsunami. Coordination and technical guidance have become priority issues for the governments of the disaster affected countries. The United Nations Agencies, World Bank and Asian Development Bank have been called upon to support governments in these tasks. COFI is invited to review and comment on the response by FAO to the disaster and provide guidance on the Fisheries Department’s medium and long-term strategies to support affected countries in the rehabilitation of their fisheries and aquaculture sectors.