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A third of the global eligible fleet has been registered on the Information System of the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record) which was publicly released today.

The Information System was released during a side event of the thirty-third Session of the Committee of Fisheries (COFI), held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy.  

Out of a total estimate of 24 000 eligible vessels – which have been allocated an IMO Number, considered a prerequisite to the Global Record – the Information System has already been inputted with information on more than 8 300 vessels. The United States of America, Latin America and Europe are the biggest contributors to date. 

This figure also includes a third of the estimated global fleet for Transport and Supply vessels that support fishing vessels in their operations. 

Although the Global Record is currently focusing on Phase 1 (vessels of 100 gross tonnage or 24 metres or above), data submitted to date covers vessels of all sizes including some vessels under 12 metres of length, indicating the willingness of States to increase transparency in fleets with IMO Numbers regardless of the size. 

The Global Record Information System gathers and disseminates certified, unequivocal information about vessels and vessel-related activities provided by official State authorities which are responsible for it, together with historical information, such as data on vessels not currently operational or holding any fishing authorization. 

At this stage, States are mainly uploading vessel details to build the backbone of the Information System to which additional data will be included in due time, such as authorizations and historical information about compliance. 

Until today, forty-eight States have uploaded information in the Global Record. This represents almost a third of States with fleets.