A global conference on small-scale fisheries that will highlight responsible fisheries and social development will be held 13-17 October 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. The 4SSF Conference will have a broad scope allowing for the discussion of a wide range of issues including, inter alia, wider social and economic development and human-rights issues, governance, fisheries policy processes and systems, fisheries management approaches, and market access aspects and means of increasing postharvest benefits.