Operational Pole and Line Data Format
Field formatting details
- Datetime must be reported in ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS. Positions are required to be reported at noon (12:00), and therefore, this field is referred to as the
activity_datetime. - Latitude and longitude must be reported in decimal degrees with 3 decimals, the valid range is -180 to 180 for longitude and -90 to 90 for latitude.
- E.g.
-5.432for latitude and170.215for longitude
- E.g.
- Catches must be reported in metric tonnes (mt) and number of individuals (n), and must be whole values (cannot use decimal values).
- Species code must be FAO standard Species Code (3 characters).
- E.g.
YFT- Yellowfin Tuna orALB- Albacore Tuna.
- E.g.
- Each port has a unique 5 letter code. Please refer to this document provided by WCPFC.
Documents structure and data fields format
Operational pole and line data are structured in three interconnected levels: Trip, Activity, and Catch.
Separate tables are used for each data level to maintain clarity and reduce redundancy.
Each table is connected using unique identifiers: trip_id for the Trip level and activity_id for the Activity 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 (trip, activity, and catch).
CSV Data Templates
Trip level
This is the header of the trip, it has one row per trip.
Example document at trip level
| trip_id | vessel_name | vessel_reg | ircs | uvi | flag_code | fleet_code | departure_port | unloading_port | departure_datetime | unloading_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | Island Spirit | 584235 | 6FHY79 | 9900124 | JP | JP | MHMAJ | SBHIR | 2025-03-01 05:38 | 2025-03-18 22:47 |
Field descriptions at trip level
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric - refer to Trip level identifier | Unique identifier for the trip | Yes |
| vessel_name | String | Alphanumeric | Name of the fishing vessel | Yes |
| vessel_reg | String | Alphanumeric | Registration number of the vessel | Yes* |
| ircs | String | Alphanumeric | International radio call sign | Yes* |
| uvi | Number | Number | Unique Vessel Identifier (reference to the IMO) | No |
| 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 |
| target_species | String | FAO 3 letters Code | Main target species code | No |
| departure_port | String | WCPFC port code | Port of departure | Yes |
| unloading_port | String | WCPFC port code | Port of unloading | Yes |
| departure_datetime | Datetime | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | Date of departure | Yes |
| unloading_datetime | Datetime | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | Date of unloading | Yes |
- = A code may be used as a vessel identifier instead of the name of the vessel, registration number and call sign for vessels that have fished and that intend to fish only in the waters of national jurisdiction of the State that has flagged the vessel
Activity level
This level contains one row per activity within a trip. At least one Activity entry should be recorded each day, and it is possible to have multiple activities in the same day.
Example document at activity level
| trip_id | activity_id | latitude | longitude | activity_type_id | activity_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | -10.251 | 170.691 | 1 | 2025-03-03 12:00 |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | -10.502 | 170.342 | 1 | 2025-03-04 12:00 |
Field descriptions at activity level
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric - refer to Trip level identifier | Unique identifier for the trip | Yes |
| activity_id | String | Alphanumeric - refer to Activity level identifier | Unique identifier for the activity | Yes |
| latitude | Number | Decimal Degrees | Latitude of the activity location | Yes |
| longitude | Number | Decimal Degrees | Longitude of the activity location | Yes |
| activity_type_id | Number | Integer: refer to Reference Table 1 | Type of activity | Yes |
| activity_datetime | Datetime | ISO 8601 Date and time: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | Date and time of the activity | Yes |
* Mandatory for activity activity_type_id = 1 (Fishing Set)
Catch level
One Catch entry must be provided for each species caught and retained during a Fishing Set, either retained of discarded. Column is_discarded indicates whether the catch was discarded (1) or retained (0).
Example document at catch level
| trip_id | activity_id | sp_code | sp_mt | is_discarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | SKJ | 2150 | 0 |
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | YFT | 620 | 0 |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | SKJ | 1500 | 0 |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | YFT | 700 | 0 |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | FAL | 0.1 | 1 |
Field descriptions at catch level
| Field Name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric - refer to Trip level identifier | Unique identifier for the fishing trip | Yes |
| activity_id | String | Alphanumeric - refer to Activity level identifier | Unique identifier for the fishing activity | Yes |
| sp_code | String | FAO 3-letter code for the target species | FAO 3-letter code for the target species | Yes |
| sp_mt | Number | Weight of the catch in metric tonnes | Weight of the catch in metric tonnes | Yes |
| is_discarded | Number | discarded (1) or retained (0) | Indicator of whether the catch was discarded (1) or retained (0) | No |
References
Reference Table 1: Activity Type identifiers
| activity_type_id | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fishing Set |
| 2 | No fishing - Collecting bait |
| 3 | No fishing - Transit |
| 4 | No fishing - Breakdown |
| 5 | No fishing - Bad weather |
| 6 | In port- Unload |
Reference Table 2: List of Fleets
| country_code | fleet_code | gear_code | is_active | ocean_codes | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU | AF | S | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australia purse seine, inside the Australian Fishing Zone |
| AU | AU | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australia domestic and chartered longline |
| AU | EX | S | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australia distant-water purse seine |
| AU | JV | L | 0 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australian joint-venture Longline |
| CN | DW | L | 1 | SP,NP,NX,SX | China distant-water longline |
| ID | DW | S | 1 | WX,WP | Indonesia distant-water purse seine |
| ID | ID | S | 1 | WX,WP | Indonesia domestic purse seine |
| JP | CS | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Japan coastal fleet longline |
| JP | CS | P | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Japan coastal fleet pole-and-line |
| JP | CS | S | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Japan coastal fleet purse seine |
| JP | DW | P | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,WP | Japan offshore and distant water pole-and-line |
| JP | DW | S | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,WP | Japan offshore and distant-water purse seine |
| JP | JP | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Japan offshore and distant water longline |
| PH | DW | S | 1 | WX,WP | Philippines distant-water purse seine |
| PH | PH | S | 1 | WX,NX,WP | Philippines domestic purse seine |
| TW | DW | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Chinese Taipei distant-water longline |
| TW | OD | L | 0 | NP,NX | Chinese Taipei offshore domestic longline (REDUNDANT -STLL) |
| TW | OS | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Chinese Taipei small-scale Longline (STLL) |
| US | AS | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | American Samoa longline |
| US | AS | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,NX,WP | American Samoa (US) Troll |
| US | GU | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Guam (US) Longline |
| US | GU | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,NX,WP | Guam (US) Troll |
| US | HW | H | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Hawaii (US) Handline |
| US | HW | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,WP | United States of America longline (Hawaii) |
| US | HW | P | 1 | SP,NP,NX,WP | Hawaii pole-and-line |
| US | HW | T | 1 | WX,NP,SX,NX,WP | Hawaii (US) Troll |
| US | HW | T | 1 | SP,NX,SX,WP | Hawaii (US) Troll and Handline |
| US | MP | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Northern Marianas Islands (US) Longline |
| US | MP | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,NX,WP | Northern Mariana Islands (US) troll |
| US | US | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,WP | United States of America longline |