The first session of the Scientific Committee of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission was attended by delegates from Comoros, European Community, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and the United Republic of Tanzania. Representatives of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project, the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wide Fund for Nature also attended the session as observers. The Scientific Committee elected its first Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson and examined: the status of fisheries resources in its area of competence; the ecosystem approach to fisheries management; the relationship between the Scientific Committee and regional fisheries research and assessment activities; and working parties.

The Working Group on Fisheries for Small Pelagic Fish (WGSP) reviewed the state of knowledge on the main fisheries harvesting small pelagic fish in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) region, identified the species to be analysed in greater detail by the Working Group and carried out a Productivity-Susceptibility Analysis (PSA) of ten Small Pelagic fish stocks from the region. A total of 38 species of small pelagic fish were identified for future work of the Working Group. Of the ten (10) stocks analysed using the Productivity-Susceptibility Analysis, eight (8) were scored as being at low risk, while two (2) scored as medium risk. The WGSP will continue working by correspondence during the intersessional period, until the second meeting, to be held during the first semestre of 2021.