[click here...] for the list of available documents.

Data Catalogues :

The file CAT_BILL.pdf ( as of 31/05/2011), contains information on the amount of nominal catches strata for which catch and effort and/or size frequency data are available for billfish species (Catalogues on Data Availability for billfish species).


Nominal Catches (Available):

Total catch estimates per Fleet, Year, Gear, IOTC Area and species. The catches not reported per species or gear were assigned to the corresponding gears and/or species by the Secretariat.

The catches estimated for 1950-2009 and details about the data source and data quality can be found in

the spreadsheet:

NC_ALL.zip (as of 20-05-2011) (xls file compressed with WinZip)


 Catches and Effort (Available):

Catch and effort data (as of 20-05-2011) are presented as three different files (csv files compressed with WinZip):
•  vessels using drifting longlines — CELL.zip
•  vessels using pole and lines or purse seines — CEPSBB.zip
•  vessels using gears other than those referred to above — CEOTHR.zip

Or click here if you want to download the above three files in one go CEALL.zip


Catches (in tonnes or/and in number) and effort are recorded per Fleet, Year, Gear, Type of School, Time Interval (month or quarter usually), grid (usually 1 degree square areas for surface gears and 5 degrees square areas for longlines) and species.

Catches and effort are not available for all Nominal catches strata. When recorded, the catches in these datasets might represent the total catches of the species in the year for the fleet and gear concerned or represent simply a sample of those.

More details about the catch and effort information available and the way in which the above text files might be read can be found in CE_Reference.xls (compressed with WinZip).


Raised catches per area for swordfish (to be released):

The Secretariat estimated catches of swordfish per gear, year, quarter and 5 degrees square grid from the available nominal catches. These can be found in C_SWO_raised.csv (to be released)

Size frequency data (available):

The available data on the sizes of billfish species caught by the different fisheries are presented as:

Size frequency data available: The size frequency data available in the IOTC databases is presented in
(xls files compressed with WinZip):

1. FL_SWO.zip (as of 20-05-2011), contains the available data for swordfish
2. EFL_BLM.zip (as of 20-05-2011), contains the available data for black marlin
3. EFL_BUM.zip (as of 20-05-2011), contains the available data for blue marlin
4. EFL_MLS.zip (as of 20-05-2011), contains the available data for striped marlin
5. EFL_SFA.zip (as of 20-05-2011), contains the available data for Indo-Pacific sailfish

Or click here if you want to download the above five files in one go FLALL.zip

The following standard lengths are used for billfish species:

1. Fork length: straight length from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail. Used for swordfish (SWO)
2. Eye to fork length: straight length from the eye orbit to the fork of the tail. Used for marlins
   (BUM, BLM, MLS) and Indo-Pacific sailfish (SFA).

 All size data strata not recorded as standard length was converted into standard length by using
the equations available for each species. Fish recorded under size class intervals other than those
used for billfish species was assigned to the corresponding  size class interval(s) for each species
(first class is 15cm for all billfish species and class interval is 3cm).


Equations: The equations used to estimate standard lengths from non-standard measurements and to estimate weight from the available lengths can be found in Equations.doc (as of 20-05-2011)

Details about the type of SF data available can be found in SF_Reference.xls (compressed with WinZip as of 20-05-2011).


Data for the assessments of the Indian Ocean swordfish stock

The IOTC Secretariat has prepared three types of datasets, presented as Microsoft Excel worksheets (compressed with WinZip):

1. SWO_SA_WP2011_Samples.zip (as of 20-05-2011): Assessment models using estimates of total catches and length samples of swordfish available in the IOTC database by assessment fishery, assessment area, year and quarter.
2. SWO_SA_WP2011_Catch-at-Size.zip (as of 20-05-2011): Assessment models using estimates of total catches and Catch-at-Size (i.e. length samples raised to represent total catches) of swordfish by assessment fishery, assessment area, year and quarter.
3. SWO_SA_WP2011_Catch-at-Age.zip (as of 20-05-2011): Assessment models using estimates of total catches and Catch-at-Age (estimated as the total number of fish by class of age, for all fisheries and time periods) of swordfish by assessment fishery, assessment area, year and quarter.

More details about the above files are provided in the worksheet NOTES within each file.

The Secretariat has also prepared samples of swordfish by sex: SA_SWO_SEX.zip
(as of 20-05-2011). The data available is presented in disaggregated form, sorted by Assessment Fishery and Assessment Area (refer to ReadMe in the above file for details).
The length and/or weight of each swordfish are recorded, by sex.

For further information:

Please, do not hesitate to contact the IOTC Secretariat ( mh@iotc.org or data.assistant@iotc.org ) if you have any question regarding these datasets.