The use of electronic monitoring within tuna longline fisheries in the Indian Ocean – implications for data collection, analysis and reporting

At-sea observer coverage in global fishing fleets has often been lower than anticipated due to the scheduling and logistical difficulties of placing observers on vessels, as well as financial costs. Electronic monitoring (EM), consisting of on-board video imagery and on-shore analysis, offers an alternative or supplement to at-sea observer programs in global fishing fleets. However, it is currently unclear whether EM can collect all fields currently collected by at-sea observers and interpret them into data. We evaluate the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) regional observer scheme mandatory reporting data fields for longline fisheries, their current scientific application in the IOTC, and the ability of EM technology to collect these fields. We base this evaluation on output from two Pacific Community (SPC) data process standard technical workshops in 2016 and 2017. Of the longline data fields that could be assessed, we identify that 68% can be collected with current EM technology, with 65% of these currently used in scientific analyses. For the 35% of fields not routinely used in scientific analyses, the introduction of EM may facilitate sufficient increase in data availability to support their future use. The 32% of fields that EM cannot currently record would require modifications to current EM systems or alternative data collection approaches, to ensure that data continuity and scientific rigour are not compromised.