Welcome to the Joint Research Centre (JRC)
fisheries data collection web site

The EU Member States collect fisheries data to support the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) through a scientific advice. The data collection framework (DCF) exists since 2000, set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 and a multiannual programme (EU MAP).

The Member States collect the data following the national work plans and report annually on the implementation. They coordinate their activities in regional coordination groups (RCGs) which may also prepare regional work plans.

The Member States upload some of the collected data to JRC databases, in response to data calls issued by DG MARE. The data is analysed by the experts of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). It underpins STECF scientific opinions and recommendations that are used in the CFP decision-making process.

Other end users also partly base their scientific advice on the DCF data: The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs), sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs), and more.

JRC (D.2. Water and Marine resources) extracts and analyses the data stored in its databases, assesses its quality, and prepares it for the STECF working groups. Once the STECF reports are finalised, the aggregated data is published for further use in scientific analyses and policy-making.

On this website, you will find:

• information on the DCF legal framework;
• contact details to the DCF national correspondents;
• national work plans and annual reports;
• the data transmission monitoring tool (DTMT, restricted access) and guidelines;
• information on data calls, deadlines, variable definitions, disaggregation levels and uploading procedures;
• access to the uploading facilities and data dissemination platforms for the experts and the general public;
• guidelines for drafting and assessing the work plans and the annual reports;
• templates for the work plans and the annual reports;
• template for data requests;
• information on the regional coordination, meetings and grants;