Introduction

The Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) provides a mechanism to coordinate fishery statistical programmes of regional fishery bodies and other inter-governmental organizations with a remit for fishery statistics. Functional since 1960, the CWP's purpose is to:

• continually review fishery statistics requirements for research, policy-making and management;
• agree on standard concepts, definitions, classifications and methodologies for the collection and collation of fishery statistics;
• make proposals for the coordination and streamlining of statistical activities among relevant intergovernmental organizations.

The CWP has strongly facilitated improved data collection through standardized statistical reporting systems and is now looking ahead to efficiently coordinate and exchange this data with participating organizations.

Although first mandated to cover North Atlantic fisheries, since 1995 the CWP has extended its remit to all marine water bodies.

As of September 2004, there were 14 participating organizations in the CWP:

• Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
• Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)
  
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)
• Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)
• International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
• International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
• International Whaling Commission (IWC)
• North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO)
• Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO)
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
• Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)
• Statistical Office of the European Communities (Commission of the EU/Eurostat)

The FAO serves as the CWP Secretariat.