This report gives an overview of the major living resources of the Benguela Current Ecosystem, and of the research which has been conducted on them by the three countries bordering the system (Angola, Namibia and South Africa) and foreign partners, as input to management of these resources. It treats the resources on a regional basis, and highlights trans-boundary problems which need to be addressed through a regional rather than a national approach. The report amplifies and updates recent summaries of scientific information on the resources, and adds material on the legal framework and structures under which they are managed in each of the three countries.