IFFO RS Fishery Assessment

Basic Information Submission Requirements

Fishery(Common & Latin name):

Fishing Area & Country:

This document provides a summary of the most important information required for the assessment of fisheries against the IFFO RS standard. It is meant as an aid to applicant fisheries and assessment teams for determining the fundamental questions which must be answered before a full assessment can take place. It does not represent a full list of all possible relevant fishery information, and it is important to note that the more information available to the assessment team, the more thorough the assessment can be.

  • It is important to recognise that the assessment can only proceed with a good level of quality information provided for the applicant fishery (ies).
  • Objective and independent information published from official bodies, such as the fishery management agency, the official fishery scientific agency and supporting information from connected bodies are considered of high quality.
  • Published information from other recognised institutes, universities and research bodies are also considered of good quality. Information produced by direct fishery stakeholders and fishery organisations can also contribute to the assessment process by providing more detailed understanding of the operation of the fishery.
  • Information published or provided by non-government organisations can also be used where its independence and objectiveness can be demonstrated. ‘Softer’ media type information can be used but in isolation, will not provide sufficient substantiation for a thorough assessment to be performed.

It is also important to note that high quality information does not automatically result in high compliance.

Key to the main table:

  • Key Questions: The main questions which must be answered before the assessment team can complete an IFFO RS assessment upon the fishery. Assessment Section(s): Key Questions are specific to each section of the IFFO Fishery Approval template.

Very useful evidence to be submitted with this form:

  • Stock assessment outputs, including catch data, biomass estimates, TAC recommendations, diagrams and tables, etc.
  • Main fisheries legislation
  • Comparisons of total fishery removals against sustainable fishery removals, reference points, or any other indicator used to ensure the level of fishing is sustainable.
  • Stock-specific or other fishery management plan.

Please attach to this form all relevant and useful information as mentioned above linking to all their respective references and clauses, and send directly to the Certification Body.

SAI Global e-mail for submission of information:

Your Key Contact Information
Name:
Tel. No: / Cel. No:
Email:
Country:

Notes:

Resources:

Applicants should also refer to the Data Gathering Guidance Document for Whole Fish Fishery Assessments that can be found on the IFFO RS website

Note on translation of information:

The IFFO RS Fishery Assessment reports will be written in the English language. IFFO RS Ltd. recognises that fishery information may not be available in English translated formats. It is not necessary for Applicants to translate information to English for submission to the Certification Body but IFFO RS would like to ask that wherever possible, electronic documents are in unlocked software formats so that the certification body can undertake on-line translations more readily improving in this way the timing of the process.

Note: throughout this table, ‘the fishery’ is shorthand for ‘the fishery under assessment’.

Key Questions / Assessment Section(s) / Source of Information / Report attached
What is the authority responsible for the management of the fishery? Describe the structure and function of the authority. Are there additional authorities or agencies involved in the fishery management structure / A1
What are the major legal instruments and regulations under which this authority and fishery operates? / A1
What organisation(s) is responsible for fisheries research? Describe the basic structure and function of the organisation. / A1
Define the fishery management unit(s) by geographic location, season and gear type. How does this compare to the scientifically-understood stock unit? / A2
Is the same stock also fished by other states? If so, describe the level of scientific and managerial cooperation which occurs, and describe any other country or international body in place to coordinate such efforts. / A2
Is there a stock-specific management plan in place for the fishery? If not, what are the long-term objectives of fishery managers, and where are they set out? / A3
How are the outputs of the research organisation(s) incorporated into management decisions? / B2
Is there a legal requirement or defined policy for how scientific recommendations should be adopted by management? / B2
Are regular stock assessments conducted? If so, how often? Is the most recent stock assessment available? / B1, D1
Detail all fishery-dependent data collection, monitoring and research conducted on the fishery, including monitoring of landings; information collected by fishers; biological information collected by port or at-sea sampling programmes and at sea scientific observation. / B1
Detail all fishery-independent data collection, monitoring and research conducted on the fishery, including species-specific surveys; ecosystem surveys; and other academic studies on the fishery or associated species. / B1
What restrictions are in place to limit the total amount of fish caught? This can include TAC; seasonal and geographic restrictions; total time-at-sea restrictions; gear restrictions; other effort restrictions. / B2, D1
How is/was the sustainable level of fishing determined? / B2, D1
What measures are in place to ensure the total fishery removals do not exceed a sustainable level, and what measures are applied if this occurs? / B2, D1
To what extent is the precautionary approach* applied in the management of this fishery, and in the management of fisheries in the country in general? Is the precautionary approach outlined in policy or a legal document? Is the precautionary approach applied to other aspects of uncertainty such as by-catch in the fishery or effects on habitat and wider ecosystem? / C1
How is total fishing effort andcapacity measured, and are any measures in place to reduce total capacity in overcapacity fisheries? Provide an overview of how effort is quantified and how many vessels are active (inactive) in the fishery? / D2
What measures, if any, are in place to minimise the amount of bycatch in the fishery? Provide details of bycatches such as monitoring programmes and the quantities of bycatches by species and areas. Are there other retained species that are caught at the same time as the target species? Provide the same details of these. / D3
What measures, if any, are in place to minimise the effects of the fishery on the ecosystem? / D3
What measures, if any, are in place to minimise the effects of the fishery on the physical environment? / D3
Is there a potential for the fishery to affect ETP species, and if so what measures are in place to monitor and minimise these effects? / D3
What sanctions are applied to those who break fishery laws? / E1
What organisation applies these sanctions? Describe the scale, functions and effectiveness of the organisation(s). / E1, E2
What organisation(s) monitor compliance? Describe the scale, functions and effectiveness of the organisation(s). Summaries published by enforcement agencies of the number of inspections/vessel boarding’s/and number and type of violations occurring each year are useful. / E2

*Definition of Precautionary Approach

The precautionary approach is described by the FAO ( and using the following diagram:

Essentially, applying a precautionary approach to fishery management can be interpreted to mean including consideration of the level of uncertainty and severity of potential impacts when making management decisions. The question could thus be interpreted to be: “Does the management approach reflect the level of uncertainty in the understanding of the fishery and its associated environment, and does it also take into account the potential severity of impact of applying incorrect or sub-optimal management measures?”