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The IOTC has identified several datasets critical for monitoring tuna and tuna-like fisheries and analysing the status and trends of both the populations and the marine ecosystems that support them. These datasets must be reported by the IOTC CPCs following Article XI of the IOTC Agreement but they are also requested from any other Parties that fish in the IOTC Area of Competence for species managed by the IOTC.
The requirements for reporting scientific data to the IOTC are outlined in various IOTC Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs). Detailed descriptions of the relevant CMMs, the types of data required, and the applicable standards can be found in the IOTC Data Reporting Guidelines. These guidelines, based on the existing IOTC Data Requirements, are designed to facilitate accurate and timely data reporting to the IOTC.
To manage the data received from CPCs and other parties fishing in the IOTC Area of Competence for IOTC-managed species, the Secretariat has developed specific reporting forms for each dataset. The use of the IOTC Data Reporting Forms for submitting fisheries statistics to the IOTC became mandatory as of 2025. The forms include all mandatory metadata, data fields, and information on IOTC formats and standard code lists. Additionally, interactive validators have been created to enable CPCs to verify the contents of the forms before submission through e-MARIS. The URL links to the form-specific validators are available from the main page of the IOTC Data Reporting Forms.
The IOTC Secretariat also receives operational fisheries data collected through the Regional Observer Scheme (ROS; Res. 22/04). Information on the collection and reporting of ROS data is available from the ROS main webpage. An overview of the current status of the ROS has been presented at the 26th session of the IOTC Scientific Committee in December 2023 (IOTC Secretariat 2023). For more information on the ROS dataset, please contact [email protected].
Additionally, the Compliance Section of the Secretariat is responsible for managing datasets related to the monitoring of authorised and active fishing vessels in the IOTC Area of Competence (Res. 10/08 and 19/04), landings and transhipments of fish products in fishing ports (Res. 16/11), and transshipments at sea (Res. 23/05). For more information on these datasets, please contact [email protected].
The IOTC Reference Data Catalogue is a compilation of all IOTC reference data code lists utilised to categorise and qualify the fisheries and biological datasets managed by the IOTC, including those collected through the ROS.