Towards responsible transparency: understanding why fishers are cautious about sharing data

Citation
ANCORS (2022) Towards responsible transparency: understanding why fishers are cautious about sharing data. In: WCPFC - Commission Nineteenth Regular Session. WCPFC19-2022-OP04, Da Nang City, Vietnam
Abstract

In late June and early July 2022, the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), at the University of Wollongong, and Global Fishing Watch hosted a virtual workshop to explore fisheries data confidentiality, and the circumstances and rationale that determines data confidentiality, and thereby better understand when and how data might be safely made available to scientists, managers, stakeholders and the public. Our objective was not to investigate the reasons for any failure to meet requirements to share data with national authorities or RFMOs but to explore why fishers are reluctant to make data publicly available. This report summarises the key findings from the workshop discussions and presents recommendations to RFMOs and national fisheries authorities to support responsible transparency in the interests of sustainable and effective fisheries management.