Estimation of Unreported Catches by ICCAT

Víctor Restrepo (ICCAT, Madrid)

OECD IUU Workshop

Paris, 19-20 April, 2004

Outline

• Scope

• Statistical Document Programs

• Case study: Bluefin tuna

• Other estimates

• Concluding remarks

Scope

- Unreported catches: "Not reported" or "misreported" (to ICCAT) (Par. 3.2.2 IPOA). The SCRS estimates these.

- Unreported catches are not necessarily "IUU". The Commission decides what constitutes IUU fishing.

- Main focus: iUu, not on illegal or unregulated.

Statistical Document Programs (SDP)

• Purpose: To track imports into Contracting Parties and Cooperators (CPCs)

• Bilateral process: one SD per [vessel/shipment]

• Regional process: CPCs inform who can validate SDs; CPCs send biannual summaries to Secretariat

SDP

1992: SDP-BFT for frozen products [Rec 92-01]

1993: SDP-BFT extended to fresh products [Rec 93-03]

1997: SDP-BFT extended to re-exports [Rec 97-04]

2001: SDP-BET with exception for canneries [Rec 01-21]

2001: SDP-SWO established [Rec 01-22]

2003: All SDPs linked to Vessel List and Farming

And many other resolutions, primarily on how to interpret/apply/validate SDPs.

Case study: BluefinMost international trade of BFT goes to Japan.Most Japanese imports are from Contracting Parties to ICCAT that report their catch statistics

Case study: BluefinAt least 50% to 60% of the catch of Atlantic bluefin is traded according to the SDP data reported to ICCAT

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

To

ns,

BF

T

SDP Imports

Atlantic catch

Case study: Bluefin

General formulation:

NEI = A – B – C – 0.8 D

NEI = “not elsewhere included” (i.e., “unreported”)A = Reported to ICCATB = Imports to USAC = Imports to Japan from wild fishD = Imports to Japan from farming

Case study: Bluefin

General formulation:

NEI = A – B – C – 0.8 D

reported

wild imports

farmed imports (before growth)

NEI positive: OKNEI negative: Evidence of unreported catch

Case study: BluefinConversion factors are applied, except for farmed belly meat (to diminish risks of double-counting when bellies are shipped separately from other products) Conversion factors for BFT products

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Mor

mo

Facer

a

Carne

Mor

rillo

Carne

Kama

Cola

Restos

Kama

Huevas

Raspa

Raspa

Cabeza

Cabeza

Ventre

scas

Lomos

Lomos

Tronc

o

Filete

sDR

GGW

R

Case study: Bluefin

Conversion Factors used to calculate “round weight”:

Belly meat (wild) x 10.28Dressed weight x 1.25Fillets x 1.67Gilled and gutted x 1.16Others x 2.00

Case study: Bluefin

The general formulation is not fixed. It is adapted to new situations.

For most individual countries, calculations are aggregated for all gears. This may change if the description of Gear becomes more accurate.

A regional “NEI combined” is calculated to aggregate data from nine Mediterranean countries that are involved in farming or in fishing-for-farming. This is an adaptation to the current industry situation.

Case study: BluefinThe result of applying the formulation suggests that 1% to 5% of Atlantic bluefin catches go unreported.

NEI Estimates for BFT

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

To

ns

NEI-COMB

NEI-81

NEI-134

NEI-118

NEI-105

NEI-10

Case study: BluefinUsing SDP-NEI estimates as a basis to quantify misreported

catches is still an imprecise tool because of uncertainties:- Conversion factors and double-counting

- SDP coverage is probably less than 100%

- Use of highly aggregated data does not allow to verify details

Using SDP-NEI estimates as a basis to infer unreported catches is a useful tool.

Other estimates

- SDP-BET and SDP-SWO are still at the early stages of implementation and have not been used.

- NEI catches for BET have been obtained from Japanese import statistics.

Other estimates

- Estimates of NEI catches for BET have oscillated between 4% and 24% of the total catch.

NEI catch estimates for BET

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

To

ns

Concluding remarks• The “S” in SDP is somewhat misleading because the

program does not yield statistics of quantifiable precision and accuracy. “Catch documentation programs”?

Concluding remarks• The “S” in SDP is somewhat misleading because the

program does not yield statistics of quantifiable precision and accuracy. “Catch documentation programs”?

• The SDP for bluefin tuna has been very useful to infer unreported catches.

Concluding remarks• The “S” in SDP is somewhat misleading because the

program does not yield statistics of quantifiable precision and accuracy. “Catch documentation programs”?

• The SDP for bluefin tuna has been very useful to infer unreported catches.

• The SDPs for bigeye and swordfish will likely become useful in one year or two.

Concluding remarks• The “S” in SDP is somewhat misleading because the

program does not yield statistics of quantifiable precision and accuracy. “Catch documentation programs”?

• The SDP for bluefin tuna has been very useful to infer unreported catches.

• The SDPs for bigeye and swordfish will likely become useful in one year or two.

• SDPs cannot operate in a vacuum. Their application and the interpretation of the information collected needs to adapt to current practices.

Concluding remarks• The “S” in SDP is somewhat misleading because the

program does not yield statistics of quantifiable precision and accuracy. “Catch documentation programs”?

• The SDP for bluefin tuna has been very useful to infer unreported catches.

• The SDPs for bigeye and swordfish will likely become useful in one year or two.

• SDPs cannot operate in a vacuum. Their application and the interpretation of the information collected needs to adapt to current practices.

• Global application of tuna SDPs is being accomplished to close some gaps. Global interpretation of SDP data could close even more gaps.