Following Article XI of the Agreement for the establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Contracting Parties and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties (CPCs) are required to collect and report fisheries data in accordance with the Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs). 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 these forms for submitting fisheries statistics to the IOTC is highly recommended, as they include all mandatory metadata, data fields, and information on IOTC formats and standard code lists available from the IOTC Reference Data Catalogue.
The legacy data reporting forms are available as macro-enabled Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheets. These forms incorporate entry controls and necessary code lists for specific data fields. Guidance on completing these forms is provided in the legacy version of the IOTC Data Reporting Guidelines, accessible here.
You can download all the legacy form templates here. This ZIP archive includes the legacy forms used for the IOTC core fisheries datasets, as well as forms 1IN, 3AA, and 3DA These forms are tailored to address specific data requirements related to interactions with Endangered, Threatened, and Protected species (1IN), AFAD-related activities (3AA), and DFOB-related activities (3DA). The use of these forms is now obsolete, and all CPCs are required to use the new data reporting forms.
At its 26th session, the IOTC Scientific Committee endorsed the adoption of new reporting forms to streamline data flow and improve the quality of dataset submissions to the Secretariat. The forms are available as plain Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheets, allowing reporting officers to input data either manually or programmatically using automated scripts.
You can download all new form templates for submitting the data for the statistical year 2024 here. We welcome your feedback on these new forms and encourage you to direct any questions to the IOTC Secretariat via email at IOTC-Statistics@fao.org.
For the submission of data on species presence in the catch.
For the submission of data on interactions of longline and surface fisheries with endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species.
For the submission of data on the total amount of fish caught and retained.
For the submission of data on the amount of discards.
For the submission of data on geo-referenced catches and efforts.
The legacy forms are split for:
Coastal fisheries: Legacy form template
Longline and surface fisheries: Legacy form template
Support vessels: Legacy form template
The new unified form allows reporting data for multiple fisheries simultaneously:
A version of the form allows reporting updated data for a single fishery:
For the submission of data on geo-referenced size frequencies.
The new unified form allows reporting data for multiple fisheries and species simultaneously:
A version of the form allows reporting updated data for a single fishery and species:
For the submission of data on activities related to anchored fish aggregating devices.
The unified form allows reporting data for multiple fisheries simultaneously:
A version of the form allows reporting updated data for a single fishery:
For the submission of data on interactions related to drifting floating objects.
The new unified form addresses the shortcomings of the previous 3FA form and allows reporting data for multiple vessels simultaneously:
A version of the form allows reporting updated data for a single vessel:
For the submission of data on daily buoy positions.
For the submission of data on fishing craft statistics.
For the submission of data on prices of fish products for tuna and tuna-like species under IOTC mandate. Specifications for a new IOTC Form for fish prices and other socio-economic indicators are expected to be defined through the work conducted by the Working Party on Socio-Economics.