IOTC Collection and Reporting Forms for the Regional Observer Scheme

Forms developed by the IOTC Secretariat in 2023 to support the collection of catch and fisheries data by scientific observers under the Regional Observer Scheme (ROS), and for reporting to the IOTC. The forms are available in English. This deposit contains the official reporting forms for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Regional Observer Scheme, developed to standardise the collection of data by observers onboard fishing vessels and the subsequent reporting to the IOTC. The forms are designed to ensure consistency and completeness of the information submitted to the IOTC Secretariat in line with IOTC Resolutions. In 2023, the IOTC released the second update of the ROS forms. This iteration includes both data collection forms for use by observers (only for longline and purse seine vessels) and reporting forms (available for longline, purse seine, pole-and-line, and gillnet vessels) to be completed by national administrations and/or scientific institutes responsible for observer programmes. The reporting forms must be submitted to the IOTC Secretariat as required under Resolution 09/04 and subsequent superseding resolutions. The collection forms mirror the structure and contents of the reporting forms. Compared with the original version, this iteration introduces a revised hierarchical data structure, which include new fields while also removing some existing ones. New versions of data collection and reporting forms are the result of feedback from CPCs and the recommendations following the ROS Pilot Project (IOTC Resolution 16/04). The objective of these revised forms and structures is to improve accuracy and consistency with data. New fields on the data collection forms: GN – Net specifications LL – Bycatch mitigation measures, Branchline details, Bait details, Hook details PL – Bait details PS – Sampling details The forms are published on Zenodo to provide stable, versioned access and to facilitate reference through Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). Each version is linked to the relevant IOTC code lists and reference data in use at the time of release. Contents The revised data collection forms are to be used onboard longline (LL) and purse seine (PS) vessels: ROS_collection_forms_LL: Data for longline fisheries ROS_collection_forms_PS: Data for purse seine fisheries The collection forms were created in .xlsx formats in English. The four data reporting forms were designed to be submitted to the IOTC Secretariat. ROS_GN_data_reporting: Gillnet fisheries ROS_LL_data_reporting: Longline fisheries ROS_PL_data_reporting: Pole-and-line fisheries ROS_PS_data_reporting: Purse seine fisheries These forms were created in .xlsx format, and are available in English.