The research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen operates within the EAF-Nansen project of FAO, and carries out fish resources and ecosystems surveys in the maritime waters of developing countries, particularly in Africa. The surveys are facilitated by FAO and the vessel flies a UN flag. The publication will, among others, examine the following at a regional scale: cross boundary composition and diversity of fish in the Western Indian Ocean, cross shelf and bathymetric productivity of fisheries as measure d by estimates of fish biomass and catch rates, and long term trends in the abundance and distribution of main species groups. It will also look at how the data and information from the surveys have been used by national scientists and others, governments of the region and the regional fisheries body in the management of the fisheries. The contribution made towards capacity development in marine and fisheries research through the Nansen surveys are evaluated.