E-Logbook

An e-logbook is the electronic form of a vessel’s statutory fishing logbook, capturing catch, effort, gear, and position data and transmitting them to the flag or coastal state, usually in near real time. It replaces the paper logbook required of larger vessels under the EU control rules and many RFMO reporting schemes, cutting transcription error and shortening the lag between haul and management data. The EU Common Fisheries Policy control regulation mandates electronic recording and reporting for vessels above defined length thresholds, and tuna RFMOs such as WCPFC and IOTC run electronic reporting standards alongside observer data. E-logbook records are the catch-and-effort backbone that feeds quota uptake monitoring and stock assessment.