2nd Tuna Data Workshop
The Pacific Islands Oceanic Project (GEF) was the main sponsor of the 2nd Tuna Data Workshop (TDW-2) which took place at the SPC headquarters from the 7th to 11th of April.Participants from 15 FFA member states, two French territories and the Philippines took part in the workshop.The main aim of the workshop was to acquaint the group with the best methods for preparing annual catch estimates and to share experiences of managing tuna data.
Work for the participants started early, as completed national status reports outlining the current state of tuna data collection and management in their countries were carried to the workshop. These status reports, now available on-line, formed the basis of the first plenary session when participants revealed how the work was advancing in their own countries.
A presentation on annual catch estimates was followed by protracted small group exercises on calculating the catch estimates for three fictitious fisheries. The experience gained in this exercise gave many participants the confidence to determine their own national fleet tuna catch estimates. Many participants had compiled their annual catch estimates before the close of the workshop and well in advance of the April 30th deadline for submission established by the WCPFC. Additional workshop presentations and discussions included: facilitating data exchange, assessing various resource requirements, database training and strengthening the legal basis of tuna data collection.
The main recommendations of the workshop were to (i) explore mechanisms to better facilitate data exchange amongst member countries, (ii) develop and provide resource material to help countries prepare for data audits, (iii) disseminate the results of the FFA project on legal obligation for data provision and request that SPC and FFA work together to prepare guidelines for the legal provision of data, and (iv) improve support and raise awareness for role of the National Tuna Data Coordinator, both at the national and regional levels.
More information on the workshop, including the main outputs and final recommendations in full are available from.
For further information please contact:
Deirdre brogan
Email: DeirdreB@SPC.int
