FAO Fisheries Report No. 761

FIPD/R761 (En)

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2005

Table of Contents

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

FAO.
Report of the Expert Consultation on Data Formats and Procedures for Monitoring, Control and Surveillance. Bergen, Norway, 25-27 October 2004.
FAO Fisheries Report. No. 761. Rome, FAO. 2005. 16p.

ABSTRACT

This document contains the report of the Expert Consultation on Data Formats and Procedures for Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) held in Bergen, Norway, from 25 to 27 October 2004. The Expert Consultation was convened in accordance with the recommendation of the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries, with a view to facilitating implementation of the International Plan of Action to Deter, Prevent and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU). The Consultation was hosted by the Directorate of Fisheries, Norway, and attended by 14 experts and resource persons. Participants were invited in their individual capacities, based on their experience with data formats and procedures in MCS.

The experts focused on the harmonization of data formats for MCS information that is exchanged internationally. Background papers presented to the Consultation covered topics including: fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) reporting procedures; licences and fishing authorizations; exchange of catch certificates and trade documents; electronic fishing logbooks; progress made by the Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP); and the use of Customs Tariff Codes, and linkages with traceability and ecolabelling.

A round-table discussion following the presentations led to the adoption of several recommendations for more effective harmonization and exchange of MCS information. The Consultation emphasized that an efficient path to standardized data formats would be the use of existing and developing data sets from the CWP. The Consultation recommended, inter alia, that the CWP be encouraged to establish a formal process for proposing and advising on standards and formats for the exchange of MCS data, in particular where such data have not been the subject of previous CWP recommendations. The Consultation recommended that the CWP should consider adopting the North Atlantic Format as a model for the standard for exchange of a range of MCS data and communications. In addition, the CWP, in coordination with regional fisheries management organizations and other stakeholders, should continue efforts to standardize field codes and formats for data in vessel databases. Other recommendations addressed the use of United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations (UN-LOCODE) for specifying locations, the introduction of standard codes for communication of information on vessel authorizations to fish, and the need to specify codes for exchange of information on defined violations.