Update on the status of Artisanal Tuna Fisheries Data Collection Fifth Tuna Data Workshop (TDW-5) 18-22 April 2011, Noumea, New Caledonia SESSION 6.3 Update on the status of Artisanal Tuna Fisheries Data Collection This is a brief presentation looking at what we might envisage a regional auditing system of tuna fishery data collection and management systems to involved (or comprise) … Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)

Increased interest in Artisanal tuna data from the following areas 1 Increased interest in Artisanal tuna data from the following areas 1. Climate Change 2. Food Security 3. FAD deployment programmes 4. WCPFC (Encouraged to provide as part of annual catch estimates) 5. HOF: i.e. comments on ‘National Tuna Fishery Status Reports’

Note: The Artisanal Tuna Data Collection System that we will discuss here is for small-scale artisanal or subsistence vessels that regularly target pelagic species. The system accommodates occasional targeting of non-pelagic species (i.e. bottom fish on the way home), but it not intended for vessels who regularly target non-pelagic species.

Who is doing this work Often the collection of artisanal tuna data is done by departments outside of the main Fisheries office Generally the responsibility of the Coastal Fishery Dept. At SPC both OFP and CFP are involved There is NGO involvement in some countries Solomons (World fish), PNG (The Nature Conservatory –TNC)

Data Systems – what’s in place SPC supported Catch and Effort System Market Survey Data – gives a good idea of the total amount of fish sold. Good for economic data, but it may miss fish that are not sold at the market (gifted etc) Difficult to link to the amount of effort. Older National catch and effort systems still in place (Vanuatu). These are perfectly fine and can be continued.

Key elements SPC’s Catch and Effort System Vessel Activity Form Logsheets Length frequency sampling FAD survey (life of the FAD) Economic data – price of fish, amount sold at the market or gifted etc

Evaluate the total numbers of active vessels Best done through national vessel registration Review of local legislation is often needed to achieve this. Legislation review recently done for Tuvalu, Fiji and Marshall (confirm) by FFA’s Legal Officer (Pio…) in conjunction with SPC’s Coastal Fisheries Manager Ian Bertram

Evaluate the total number of trips Use the Vessel Activity Form Important form, (more important than the logbook.., unless sure of 100% logsheet coverage) Same as ‘Port Visit and Vessel Activity Log’ As the base data it should show logsheet coverage rates. May be labour intensive to collect Issues- will the information be collected on the weekend etc

Collect Catch and Effort Data Use the logbook form Ideally the information is collected by a fishery officer at the end of the trip. However, the form is set up so it can be filled in by fishers. It is debatable whether you should allow fishers to fill it in. To be discussed as part of any national plan. Offering incentives may help (fuel, gear etc) Remember this is not the key form, although it is certainly important. 100% coverage is ideal, but lower coverage levels possible.

Collect length frequency sampling Target 5% coverage, or one day a week as long as it is random.

Available Support National Data Workshop already offered in Kiribati/ Nauru. Future workshops: National versus Regional Training Resource material from completed national workshops is available if you want to run your own national workshop The idea of short regional workshop to support this work has also been proposed.

Available Support . Workshop could look at the current training material (species id, length measurements, filling the forms etc) but also more importantly setting up the sampling programme {Sampling protocol, standardised reference lists for the database} It may be better to do this at a national level, but at the moment we have a lot of requests Can be added into any National Tuna Data Workshop Funding being sought to support this work at a national level

Before you start Standardise the following data fields for entry into database Vessel names (TUF-ART) Fishing Methods (TUF-ART) Define the Sampling protocol { Which vessels to include, how often to sample etc} Don’t underestimate your added data management load

TUF-ART Database Completed during 2010 Installed in Nauru, Cooks and Kiribati Same style as TUFMAN But different database, and does not have a SQL-back end. Because it may be installed at an office away from the main TUFMAN Database available, but no extra resources at SPC to support this right now. Now…quick look through TUF-ART…

Description of your National Artisanal Tuna Data System –plenary Briefly describe your artisanal fishery (number of vessels, gears, seasons) What data collection system currently exists What data collection system could be implemented Do you require the TUF-ART database?