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_kg= average weight of individual fish caught per day in kilograms (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 | uvi | flag_code | fleet_code | departure_port | unloading_port | departure_datetime | unloading_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIP501 | Island Spirit | 584235 | 6FHY78 | 9900125 | 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* |
| uvi | Number | Number | Unique Vessel Identifier (reference to the IMO) | No |
| 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 |
- = 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
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 |
| activity_datetime | 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_mt | 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_mt | Number | Decimal (mt) | Total catch weight (mt) | Yes |
| av_wt_kg | Number | Decimal (kg) | Average weight of individual albacore (kg) | No |
References
Reference Table 1: Activity Type Identifiers
| activity_type_id | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fishing (day fished) |
| 2 | Searching |
| 3 | No fishing – In transit |
| 4 | No fishing – Gear breakdown |
| 5 | No fishing – Bad weather |
| 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |