Chapter 13, 28 February 2011Landings, weighing and registration of catches –

Transparency

Real time landing information

• A key element to a successful fisheries management system is prompt and accurate information on catches

• 3 methods are used to collect information on catches

– Logbooks– Weighing notes (Catch reports)

(deduction from quota)– Sales notes

• Information on catches and quota status of Icelandic vessels is available and public as soon as landing has been completed, regardless of the size of the vessel

• Logbooks in Iceland are collected both for scientific (MRI) and control purposes (The Directorate)

– Information in logbooks not used for catch registration purposes

• Paper logbooks– All vessels under 10 m and certain vessels under 15 m

• Electronic logbooks – All other vessels, as from 15th of June 2010– Temporary exemptions given

• EC 2737/1999 and EC 1224/2009: Main differences from the Icelandic practice (regulation nr. 557/2007 on logbooks)

– Frequency in Iceland is monthly– All vessels must hand in logbooks – regardless of size– Used for both control and scientific purposes

• Co-financed– All catches must be accounted for (no minimum)

LogbooksIssue that requires specific attention in the negotiations

• Catches from all vessels, regardless of their size, have to be weighed at the port of landing– By an authorised weighing official working for the harbour

– Vessels under 15 BT landed 15% of total catch in demersal species last year

• Weighing schemes:– ALL catches have to be gross-weighed at the port of landing

– Options for final weighing before catch registration:• In-house re-weighing and ice deducted

– By an authorised weighing official

– Results sent to the harbour to be reviewed and registered

• Unprocessed fish exported and weighed at an authorised fish market in Europe

– Quota “fee” for exporting fish not finally weighed and registered in Iceland

Weighing and registration

• Weighing schemes ctd.– Options for final weighing before catch registration:

• One can land abroad– Has to get a special permission at the Directorate and be willing to pay for

an inspector to observe the landing if considered necessary

• Under special provisions pelagics can be landed directly into fish meal factories

– A notification has to be sent to the harbour with estimated quantities

– A landing notification and catch reports sent to the Directorate

– Inspection coverage over 50%

• Products produced on board have to be weighed at the port of landing– Utilisation samples used to calculate the entire amount

– Fixed utilisation factors used if sampling not sufficient

Weighing and registration ctd.

• All weighing results are registered through a common interface, known as the catch registration system, and submitted, as soon as weighing completed, into the Directorate’s landing database– All harbours are obliged to have the catch registration system

• Maintained, updated and provided by the Directorate• Only to be accessed by authorised harbour officials

• Official catch registration based on the result of weighing

• Quota deduction based on the result of weighing– Quota accounted for as soon as weighing is completed

• Quota uptake and status known in real time– Ability to act fast to address over-fishing

Weighing and registration ctd.

All approved harbours connected to the system and serviced and inspected by the Directorate

Over 55.000 landings registered into the system annually

• Main differences between the Icelandic practice (regulation nr. 224/2006, weighing and registration of catches) and standards set in EC 1224/2009:

– A common practice in catch registration, compared to uncertainty/flexibility regarding the point of catch registration within the EU

– ALL catches from ALL vessels have to be weighed and registered, compared to vessel size and minimum quantity exceptions in the EU

– Officers of the municipalities responsible for catch registration, specially trained for weighing catches, compared to the master of the vessel

– The status of uptake of fish stocks known in real time– Catch “decision” (uptake) done based on information collected when catches

are landed, compared to first sale in the EU– All catches landed and accounted for (no discard rule) – Data collected used both for scientific and inspection purposes and co-financed– No special transport note, the weighing note is a landing declaration and

transport declaration in one– All catch statistics processed from information in the catch registration scheme

and in logbooks (EC 218/2009 and 216/2009)

Weighing and registration ctd.Issue that requires specific attention in the negotiations

• Collected from fish markets – all catches from all vessels are processed regardless of their size

– Monthly

• Registered into a sales notes database at the Directorate

• Includes information on:– Quantity, species and price at first sale – Seller and buyer– Fishing vessel

• Special declaration has to be sent in for all catches fished under recreational fishing licenses

• Special report for disposal and processed quantities by processing methods– By species and quantity– By processors, not traceable to vessels

Sales notes

• Information used for control purposes as well as statistics and price investigation purposes

– Co-financed

• Main differences between the Icelandic practice (nr. 910/2001, on reporting on sales of catches) and standards set in EC 1224/2009

– Frequency is monthly compared to no later than 48 hours after sale in the EU– No special buyer registration compared to “registered buyers” in the EU– All processors, regardless of the size of the vessel bought from or quantity

processed, have to give in sales reports, compared to vessel size and quantity exceptions

– No information on sizes and freshness compared to certain standards on information on sizes and freshness within the EU framework

Sales notes ctd.Issue that requires specific attention in the negotiations

• Data is electronically cross and quality checked at the Directorate

• Logbooks and weighing notes:– Species, quantity and gear

• Weighing notes and sales notes– Buyer, species and quantity

• Field reports by inspectors compared to logbooks, weighing notes and sales notes when needed

• Discrepancies investigated and catch registration changed, if necessary, based on the result of electronic comparison and investigation

Cross checking of data

• As much information as possible made available on the internet - open to the public

– Information on prices not traceable to vessels, owners or processors

• The stocks around Iceland are owned by the public and information on the holders of quotas, use of quotas and catches of vessels should be accessible to the public

– Might conflict with measures laid out in Directive 95/46/EC and article 113 in EC 1224/2009

• This has made the administration more transparent, trustworthy and cost efficient

– Beneficial for users as well• Ability to act fast on incorrect registration• Information on unused quotas

TransparencyIssue that requires specific attention in the negotiations

Transparency in practice

• Thorough overview of the Directorate’s website and information contained therein is available for the whole fleet as well as individual vessels– Access to the internet necessary