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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The meeting on GFCM fisheries data requirements was held on 3–4 November 2016 at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy. In line with the request made by the Commission at its fortieth session, delegates of GFCM Contracting Parties and Cooperating non-Contracting Parties (CPCs) reviewed the technical contents of Recommendation GFCM/40/2016/2 on the progressive implementation of data submission in line with the Data Collection Reference Framework (DCRF). Participants addressed challenges and potential solutions, with a view to supporting the full implementation of fisheries data submission in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Furthermore, progress was made in the field of fisheries data quality thanks to the definition of four operational indicators (i.e. conformity, stability, consistency and accuracy) in line with DCRF principles and on the basis of the proposal presented at the intersessional meeting of the Compliance Committee (CoC) in January 2016. Finally, participants agreed to use the data submission tools made available in the newly established online platform, which were designed to facilitate data transmission by CPCs to the GFCM Secretariat in accordance with most of the fisheries data requirements defined in several GFCM recommendations. In addition, it was proposed that CPCs be provided with access to these tools in 2017, once eligible users had been designated by national authorities to perform data entry and transmission.