Inventories can provide the starting point to characterize and disseminate the socioeconomic importance of fisheries in terms of people's participation, economic investments (vessels size and numbers), and returns (landings in volumes and currency). Inventories can also be used to characterize fisheries in terms of their potential impacts on biodiversity (e.g. by itemizing bycatch species). In aquaculture, inventories of farming installations’ can provide policy-makers with the knowledge to enable effective planning and management.