Operational Troll Data Format
Operational (logbook) data for trollers provide daily information on fishing operations conducted using trolling and related surface gear.
Each record corresponds to one calendar day, from the start of the trip to the end, whether fishing occurred or not.
These daily records include positional, operational, and catch details that are essential for compliance monitoring, CPUE analyses, and regional stock assessments.
Trolling operations typically target albacore, yellowfin, skipjack, and billfish species, with additional records for bycatch and shark species.
Consistent reporting of both fishing and non-fishing days ensures accurate coverage of total fishing effort and spatial distribution.
Field formatting details
- Date: must be reported in UTC (GMT) using ISO 8601 format —
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS. The reporting of the position is to be noon (12:00) each day, and therefore, this field is referred to as theactivity_dateime. - Latitude / Longitude: reported in decimal degrees (3 decimal places).
- Example:
-2.341,156.512
- Example:
- Species: use FAO 3-letter species codes — e.g.
ALB,YFT,SKJ,SSP. - Catch units:
sp_n= number of fish caught per daysp_mt= total weight of fish caught per day in metric tonnes (mt)av_wt_mt= average weight of individual fish caught per day in metric tonnes (optional)
- Activity types must be recorded for every day, including both fishing and non-fishing days (see Reference Table 1).
Documents structure and data levels
Operational troll data are organized in three hierarchical levels:
- Trip level – one record per trip
- Activity level – one record per day within the trip
- Catch level – one record per species caught per activity
👉 Data providers may download ready-to-use CSV templates for each level:
CSV Data Templates
Trip Level
Each record represents a single troll trip, including departure and unloading details.
Example document at trip level
| trip_id | vessel_name | vessel_reg | ircs | flag_code | fleet_code | departure_port | unloading_port | departure_datetime | unloading_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | Island Spirit | 584235 | 6FHY78 | NZ | MHMAJ | SBHIR | 2025-02-10 11:25 | 2025-03-03 15:30 |
Field descriptions at trip level
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric | Unique identifier for the trip | Yes |
| vessel_name | String | Text | Vessel name | Yes |
| vessel_reg | String | Text | Registration number | Yes |
| ircs | String | Text | International Radio Call Sign | Yes |
| flag_code | Text | 2-letter UN/LOCODE | Authorized flag state | Yes |
| fleet_code | Text | 2-letter code (see Fleet reference table) | Sub-fleet 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 | UTC departure time | Yes |
| unloading_datetime | Datetime | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | UTC unloading time | Yes |
* If the vessel is listed in the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels,
fleet_codemay be omitted.
Activity Level
Each record represents one daily activity within a trip, with the noon (12:00) position reported each each day.
Activities must include all days: fishing, in transit, in port, bad weather, or gear breakdown.
Positions represent the vessel’s noon position for that day.
Example document at activity level
| trip_id | activity_id | latitude | longitude | activity_type_id | activity_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | -2.341 | -184.164 | 1 | 2025-02-14 12:00 |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | 10.481 | 156.512 | 1 | 2025-02-16 12:00 |
Field descriptions at activity level
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric | Reference to trip identifier | Yes |
| activity_id | String | Alphanumeric | Unique identifier for the activity/day | Yes |
| latitude | Number | Decimal degrees | Noon latitude | Yes |
| longitude | Number | Decimal degrees | Noon longitude | Yes |
| activity_type_id | Number | Integer (see Reference Table 1) | Activity type indicator | Yes |
| date | Datetime | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (UTC) | Date/time of activity record | Yes |
Catch Level
Each record represents one species caught during an activity/day.
If available, include both number and weight per species; otherwise, at least number caught.
Example document at catch level
| trip_id | activity_id | sp_code | sp_n | sp_kg | av_wt_kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | ALB | 56 | 336 | |
| TRIP501 | ACT001 | YFT | 21 | 244 | |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | ALB | 86 | 698 | |
| TRIP501 | ACT002 | SSP | 1 | 12 |
Field descriptions at catch level
| Field name | Type | Format | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trip_id | String | Alphanumeric | Reference to trip identifier | Yes |
| activity_id | String | Alphanumeric | Reference to activity identifier | Yes |
| sp_code | String | FAO 3-letter code | Species code caught | Yes |
| sp_n | Number | Integer | Number of individuals caught | Yes |
| sp_kg | Number | Decimal (kg) | Total catch weight (kg) | Optional |
| av_wt_kg | Number | Decimal (kg) | Average weight per fish | Optional |
References
Reference Table 1: Activity Type Identifiers
| activity_type_id | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fishing (day fished) |
| 2 | No fishing – In transit |
| 3 | No fishing – Gear breakdown |
| 4 | No fishing – Bad weather |
| 5 | No fishing – In port |
Reference Table 2: Primary Species to Report
| Common name | FAO code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Albacore tuna | ALB | Primary target species |
| Bigeye tuna | BET | Secondary target |
| Skipjack tuna | SKJ | Common bycatch |
| Yellowfin tuna | YFT | Common bycatch |
| Striped marlin | MLS | Billfish |
| Blue marlin | BUM | Billfish |
| Black marlin | BLM | Billfish |
| Swordfish | SWO | Billfish |
| Shortbill spearfish | SSP | Billfish |
| Sailfish | SFA | Billfish |
| Blue shark | BSH | Shark species |
| Silky shark | FAL | Shark species |
| Oceanic whitetip shark | OCS | Shark species |
| Mako sharks | SMA | Shark species |
| Thresher sharks | THR | Shark species |
| Porbeagle shark | POR | Report south of 20°S |
| Hammerhead sharks | SPN | Includes scalloped, smooth, great, winghead |
| Whale shark | RHN | Report if encountered |
| Other species | OTH | Specify in remarks if possible |
Reference Table 3: List of Fleets
| country_code | fleet_code | gear_code | is_active | ocean_codes | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AO | NULL | O | 1 | AO | AO Other |
| AU | NULL | O | 1 | SP,SX,WP | Australia Other |
| AU | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australia pole-and-line |
| AU | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australia troll |
| 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 | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Australian joint-venture Longline |
| BZ | NULL | L | 1 | SP,SX,WP | Belize Longline |
| CA | NULL | S | 1 | SP,NP,WP | Canadian Purse seine |
| CA | NULL | T | 1 | NP,NX | Canada troll |
| CK | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Cook Islands longline |
| CK | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Cook Islands Artisanal |
| CK | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Cook Islands purse seine |
| CN | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | China offshore and distant-water longline |
| CN | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | China purse seine |
| CN | DW | L | 1 | SP,NP,NX,SX | China distant-water longline |
| EC | NULL | S | 1 | WX,EP,WP | Ecuador Purse seine |
| EP | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP,EP | EP Longline |
| EP | NULL | O | 1 | EP | EP Other |
| EP | NULL | P | 1 | EP | EP Pole and line |
| EP | NULL | S | 1 | EP | EP Seiner |
| EP | NULL | T | 1 | SP,NP,EP | EP Troll |
| ES | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | EU - Spanish Longline |
| ES | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | EU - Spanish purse seine |
| FJ | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Fiji longline |
| FJ | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Fiji Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| FJ | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Fiji pole-and-line |
| FM | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,SX,WP | Federated States of Micronesia longline |
| FM | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Federated States of Micronesia purse seine |
| GU | NULL | L | 1 | NP,NX,WP | Guam longline |
| ID | NULL | G | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia gillnet |
| ID | NULL | H | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia handline (large-fish) |
| ID | NULL | K | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia small-fish hook-and-line |
| ID | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia longline |
| ID | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia unclassified |
| ID | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia pole-and-line |
| ID | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Indonesia troll |
| ID | DW | S | 1 | WX,WP | Indonesia distant-water purse seine |
| ID | ID | S | 1 | WX,WP | Indonesia domestic purse seine |
| IO | NULL | O | 1 | IO | IO Other |
| JP | NULL | G | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,SX,WP | Japan drift gillnet |
| JP | NULL | N | 1 | WX,SP,NP,WP | Japanese Gillnet |
| JP | NULL | O | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Japanese Other |
| JP | NULL | T | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Japanese Troll |
| 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 |
| KI | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Kiribati longline |
| KI | NULL | O | 1 | SP,NX,WP | Kiribati Artisanal |
| KI | NULL | P | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Kiribati pole-and-line |
| KI | NULL | S | 1 | WX,NX,WP | Kiribati purse seine |
| KR | NULL | G | 1 | WX,SP,NP,NX,SX,WP | Korea drift gillnet |
| KR | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Korea longline |
| KR | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Korea purse seine |
| MH | NULL | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Marshall Islands longline |
| MH | NULL | S | 1 | WX,NX,WP | Marshall Islands purse seine |
| MX | NULL | O | 1 | WP | Mexico Other |
| MX | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Mexico purse seine |
| NC | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | New Caledonia longline |
| NC | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | New Caledonia pole-and-line |
| NI | NULL | S | 1 | WP | Nicaragua purse seine |
| NP | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP | NP Longline |
| NP | NULL | T | 1 | SP,NP | NP Troll |
| NR | NULL | L | 1 | NP,NX,WP | Nauru longline |
| NR | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,NX,WP | Nauru Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| NR | NULL | S | 1 | WX,NX,WP | Nauru purse seine |
| NU | NULL | L | 1 | SP,SX,WP | Niue longline |
| NU | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Niue Artisanal |
| NZ | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | New Zealand longline |
| NZ | NULL | O | 1 | SP,SX,WP | New Zealand Other |
| NZ | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | New Zealand pole-and-line |
| NZ | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | New Zealand purse seine |
| NZ | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | New Zealand troll |
| PA | NULL | S | 1 | WP | Panama Purse seine |
| PF | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX | French Polynesia longline |
| PF | NULL | P | 1 | SP,SX | French Polynesia pole-and-line |
| PF | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | French Polynesia troll |
| PF | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,EP,WP | French Polynesia Other | |
| PG | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Papua New Guinea longline |
| PG | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Papua New Guinea pole-and-line |
| PG | NULL | S | 1 | WX,SX,WP | Papua New Guinea purse seine |
| PH | NULL | G | 1 | SP,NP,WP | Philippines gillnet |
| PH | NULL | H | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Philippines handline (large-fish) |
| PH | NULL | K | 1 | NP,NX,WP | Philippines handline (small-fish) |
| PH | NULL | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Philippines domestic longline |
| PH | NULL | O | 1 | NP,NX,WP | Philippines artisanal gears (not specified) |
| PH | NULL | R | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Philippines ringnet |
| PH | DW | S | 1 | WX,WP | Philippines distant-water purse seine |
| PH | PH | S | 1 | WX,NX,WP | Philippines domestic purse seine |
| PT | NULL | L | 1 | SP,SX,WP | EU - Portuguese Longline |
| PW | NULL | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Palau longline |
| PW | NULL | P | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Palau pole-and-line |
| SB | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Solomon Islands longline |
| SB | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Solomon Islands pole-and-line |
| SB | NULL | S | 1 | WX,SX,WP | Solomon Islands purse seine |
| SN | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP,NX,WP | Senegal Longline |
| SU | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP,NX,WP | Soviet Union longline |
| SU | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Russia purse seine |
| SV | NULL | S | 1 | WP | El Salvador Purse seine |
| TK | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Tokelau Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| TO | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Tonga longline |
| TO | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,NX,WP | Tonga Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| TV | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Tuvalu longline |
| TV | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Tuvalu Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| TV | NULL | P | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Tuvalu pole-and-line |
| TV | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Tuvalu Purse seine |
| TW | NULL | G | 1 | SP,NP,NX,SX,WP | Chinese Taipei drift gillnet |
| TW | NULL | O | 1 | NP,NX,WP | Chinese Taipei Other |
| TW | NULL | R | 1 | WX,WP | Chinese Taipei domestic SEINE |
| TW | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Chinese Taipei purse seine |
| TW | DW | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | Chinese Taipei distant-water longline |
| TW | OD | L | 1 | 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 | NULL | G | 1 | SP,NP | United States of America Gillnet |
| US | NULL | O | 1 | WP | United States of America (Sports fishery) |
| US | NULL | O | 1 | WP | United States of America (Unclassified) |
| US | NULL | P | 1 | SP,NP,NX,WP | United States of America Pole and line (Albacore) |
| US | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | United States of America purse seine |
| US | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | United States of America Troll (Tropical) |
| US | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX,WP | United States of America (Albacore) troll |
| 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 |
| VN | NULL | G | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Vietnamese Gillnet |
| VN | NULL | H | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Vietnamese Handline |
| VN | NULL | L | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Vietnamese Longline |
| VN | NULL | S | 1 | WX,NP,NX,WP | Vietnamese Purse seine |
| VU | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,NP,SX,NX | Vanuatu longline |
| VU | NULL | O | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Vanuatu Artisanal Tuna Fisheries |
| VU | NULL | S | 1 | WX,WP | Vanuatu purse seine |
| WF | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Wallis and Futuna Longline |
| WF | NULL | O | 1 | WX | Wallis and Futuna artisanal |
| WF | NULL | T | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Wallis and Futuna Troll |
| WN | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP | North Western Pacific longline |
| WN | NULL | P | 1 | North Western Pacific pole-and-line | |
| WN | NULL | T | 1 | SP,NP | North Western Pacific troll |
| WP | NULL | L | 1 | SP,NP,EP | WP Longline |
| WP | NULL | O | 1 | EP | WP Other |
| WP | NULL | P | 1 | EP | WP Pole and line |
| WP | NULL | S | 1 | EP | WP Purse Seine |
| WS | NULL | L | 1 | WX,SP,SX,WP | Samoa longline |