Aggregated Longline Data Format
Aggregate Catch and Effort data for longline are to be submitted for data aggregated to the level of: year, month, flag, fleet, gear, and 5x5 degree cell and hooks between floats.
Aggregate data represent raised logbook catches and should represent total annual catch and effort within the WCPFC Convention Area, for a given fleet.
The effort information includes:
- number of hooks (in hundreds)
- number of sets
- number of fishing days
- average number of hooks between floats
The catch information includes:
- catch in weight (mt) and number of individuals (n)
- an indicator to note whether the catch was discarded or not
Field formatting details
- Year must be reported as YYYY.
- Month must be reported as mm (01 to 12).
- Latitude and longitude must be reported in whole degrees, floored by 5° increments (e.g., 24° reported as 20°, and -137° reported as -140°). The valid range is -180 to 175 for longitude and -90 to 85 for latitude.
- Catches must be reported in metric tonnes (mt), with max 3 decimals, and number of individuals (n), which must be whole values.
- Species code must be FAO standard Species Code (3 characters).
- E.g.
YFT- Yellowfin Tuna orALB- Albacore Tuna. - See Sci-Data for key species to be reported.
- E.g.
Table documents format (multiple tables)
Aggregated data are structured in two interconnected levels: Effort and Catch.
In this format, separate tables are used for each data level to maintain clarity and reduce redundancy.
Each table is connected using a unique identifier, which is set at Effort level: effort_id and referenced at Catch level.
These identifiers must be numeric or alphanumeric and unique within the set of files.
👉 Data providers can also download ready-to-use CSV data templates for each level (catch and effort).
CSV Data Templates
Data format details (with examples)
Rows in the Effort table represent a fishing operation, identified by year, month, latitude and longitude.
The Catch table contains the species-specific catch details for each fishing operation, linked by the effort_id.
Example document at effort level
| effort_id | year | month | flag_code | fleet_code | latitude | longitude | hooks_bt_float | hundred_hooks_n | days_n | sets_n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFF001 | 2025 | 1 | JP | JP | -5 | 165 | 19 | 5240 | 1232 | 10 |
| EFF002 | 2025 | 2 | JP | JP | -15 | 160 | 19 | 5240 | 821 | 10 |
Field descriptions for the Effort data template
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| effort_id | Text | Unique identifier | Unique identifier for the fishing effort | Yes |
| year | Number | 4 digit number | Year of reported effort | Yes |
| month | Number | 1-2 digit number | Month of reported effort | Yes |
| flag_code | Text | 2 letter flag-state code (UN/LOCODE) | Authorized flag state | Yes |
| fleet_code | Text | 2 letter code for sub-fleet (see fleet reference table) | Sub-fleet code | No |
| latitude | Number | -90 to 85 | Latitude in whole degrees (by 5° increments) | Yes |
| longitude | Number | -180 to 175 | Longitude in whole degrees (by 5° increments) | Yes |
| hooks_bt_float | Number | 0 to 100 | Average number of hooks between floats, rounded to the nearest whole number | No |
| hundred_hooks_n | Number | Decimal number | Number of hooks used in the fishing operation (in hundreds) | Yes* |
| days_n | Number | Decimal number | Number of fishing days | No |
| sets_n | Number | Integer | Number of sets | No |
*hundred_hooks_n are required in all fishing activities.
Example document at catch level
| effort_id | sp_code | sp_n | sp_mt | is_discarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFF001 | YFT | 370 | 13.0 | 0 |
| EFF001 | BET | 300 | 15.2 | 0 |
| EFF001 | FAL | 22 | 1 | |
| EFF002 | BET | 300 | 15.2 | 0 |
Field descriptions for the Catch data template
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| effort_id | Text | Unique identifier | Unique identifier for the fishing effort | Yes |
| sp_code | Text | Species code | Code for the species caught | Yes |
| sp_n | Number | Whole number | Number of individuals caught | Yes |
| sp_mt | Number | Decimal | Weight of individuals caught (in metric tonnes) | Yes* |
| is_discarded | Number | 0 or 1 | Indicator of whether the catch was discarded (1) or retained (0) | Yes |
*sp_mt is required for retained catch.
Example document at vessel level
| flag_code | fleet_code | year | month | latitude | longitude | n_vessels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP | JP | 2025 | 1 | -5 | 165 | 14 |
Field descriptions for the Vessel data template
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| flag_code | Text | 2-letter flag-state code (UN/LOCODE) | Authorized flag of the reporting CCM | Yes |
| fleet_code | Text | 2-letter code for sub-fleet (see Fleet reference table) | Sub-fleet code | No |
| year | Number | 4-digit number | Year of reported vessel activity | Yes |
| month | Number | 1–2 digit number | Month of reported vessel activity | Yes |
| latitude | Number | Whole degrees (-90 to +89) | Latitude of the southwest corner of the 5°x5° spatial cell | Yes |
| longitude | Number | Whole degrees (-180 to +179) | Longitude of the southwest corner of the 5°x5° spatial cell | Yes |
| n_vessels | Number | Integer | Number of active longline vessels operating in that grid cell and time period | Yes |
Notes:
- The Vessel table provides contextual information on longline fleet distribution and fishing capacity.
- One record per combination of year, month, flag, fleet, and 5°x5° grid cell.
- Coordinates refer to the southwest corner of each 5°x5° spatial cell.
- This dataset complements Effort and Catch tables, helping interpret spatial patterns in longline fishing activity.
- All counts represent active vessels, not total registered vessels.
References
Reference Table: Fleet codes
The fleet-code values used across this template are maintained in the shared reference page Fleet code reference.