Submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States

The Commission has presented a report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1921/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the submission of statistical data on landings of fishery products in Member States.

The report documents the progress made by Member States and EFTA countries with respect to the provisions of the Landings Regulation, requiring each Member State to submit data annually on the weight, presentation, intended use and average price of fishery products landed on its territory by European and EFTA vessels.

Logbooks, sales notes and landing declarations are the most important administrative sources of catch and landings data.

According to the Commission, the data continue to be a valuable source of information for formulating policy and managing markets within the common fisheries policy (CFP) framework. The report’s main observations include:

·        the data supplied to Eurostat are for the most part collected under procedures introduced for control and enforcement purposes. Member States report no particular differences in the methodology for information supplied to Commission services;

·        the use of administrative data for statistical purposes ensures that there is little additional cost burden on the fishing sector;

·        the reduction in frequency of the quality reports reduces the workload for Member States;

·        most of the Member States have built up their own systems of cross-checks and warnings. The increasing use of electronic methods of data collection has improved both the timeliness and accuracy of information. Further cooperation is needed between DG MARE and Eurostat concerning the exchange of views and experience on data validations and data exchanges in order to reduce double reporting of Member States;

·        the different data sources, such as the vessel monitoring system (VMS) and on-board and port inspections, ensure the consistency of the information recorded in logbooks, landing and transhipment declarations, and sales notes. These data sources represent a census of the required information;

·        there are strict rules governing the deadlines for providing sales notes, logbooks and landing declarations, and these are respected in the majority of cases where the landings are made on the territory of the Member State concerned;

·        the adoption of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 which sets out all the coefficients for converting stored or processed fish weight into live fish weight resolved the problems faced by Member States with the use of the conversion factors which varied from one Member State to another.

To achieve cost-effectiveness, the Commission considers that the following factors are relevant:

·        the harmonisation of the formats and the planning of deadlines, and increasing data sharing and availability;

·        the coordination of data collection with other Commission services;

·        the coordination of developments of the data collection instruments to facilitate the quality cross-checks amongst various sources and data bases.

The above will assist in making optimum use of all available administrative sources in the fishing sector, in particular those based on monitoring, control and surveillance, which are commonly used in all the Member States. These sources represent a complete census and no statistical sampling is employed. In addition to the above, any gaps in the data coverage could be resolved through ‘ad hoc’ statistical surveys such as employment figures.

Some difficulties have been noted in collecting detailed and accurate data for artisanal vessels due to the large number of vessels and landing places. This kind of fleet engages in activities that vary considerably by season. Also, the lack of a VMS or logbook makes it more difficult to control these landings.

The Commission notes that there has been an improvement in the completeness and timeliness of the questionnaires produced compared with former reports. However, this report also indicates that further improvements are necessary to enhance the quality of the landing statistical data.

Eurostat plans to review its quality questionnaires report on landings statistics to gather more accurate information on the quality of the administrative sources used by the Member States. It also envisages that more technical support will be provided to those Member States which request it.

Concrete actions to achieve improved data will be considered to assist in minimising the response burden on Member States and avoid double reporting, thus optimising the use of Commission resources.