APPENDIX A: LEVELS OF DATA AVAILABILITY AND PREFERRED CAPACITY ESTIMATION METHODS

The Mexico City consultation identified four levels of data availability (Table A.1). Level 1 is the minimum level of data necessary for estimating fishing capacity. Countries with Level 0 data (i.e. essentially no quantitative data) should give high priority to the collection of sufficient data to reach at least Level 1 as soon as possible.

Table A.1 - Levels of data availability

Level	Data available
0	Little or no quantitative data.
1	An estimate of total landings; in vessel-based fisheries, an estimate of total vessels; in non-vessel-based fisheries, number of participants or a measure of the total gear units in use (e.g. total number of beach nets).
2	As for Level 1, plus an index of vessel size and/or power; gear type; a “rough” index of trends in fishing success; “rough” measures of total time spent fishing and maximum time that could be spent fishing under normal operating procedures per year or season; basic relevant characteristics of fishing operations (e.g. seasonality, number and types of other fisheries in which vessels operate, use of fish aggregating and fish finding devices such as FADs, sonar, satellite tracking, other examples of changes in technology, autonomy of vessels, trans-shipment practices).
3	As for Level 2, plus total catch (including discards) split by fleet segment and by species; basic biological information (e.g. resource distribution, catch by species, size structure, “rough” estimates of potential maximum sustainable yield); comprehensive primary characteristics determining fishing power (e.g. gross tonnage or other volume measures, engine power, fish hold capacity, vessel age - see Table 1); comprehensive information on gear type and dimensions; prices or revenues by major species; detailed effort and catch per unit effort (CPUE) data, including time spent fishing.
4	As for Level 3, plus detailed biological information on fish stocks (e.g. estimated biomass, fishing mortality rates, age/size structure, uncertainty in stock assessments); comprehensive data on other important features of the fishery such as detailed information on fish aggregating and finding devices (e.g. sonar, FADs, satellite tracking), skipper and crew skill levels, fuel consumption, autonomy of vessels, processing capacity, cost and earnings information, value of capital stock, employment, subsidies and economic incentives, and fishing operations relative to fish distributions.

Source: FAO (2000)

Level 3 is the desired standard for the estimation of fishing capacity. Countries with Levels 1 and 2 data should aim to collect data to move to Level 3 as soon as possible. The benefits of moving to Level 3 include improved accuracy and precision of capacity measures.

Level 4 is the long-term desired level of data for estimating capacity. This allows not just the measurement of capacity and capacity utilization, but also estimation of economically optimal levels of capacity.

The method adopted for measuring capacity will largely depend on the quantity and quality of available data. A summary of the methods available to estimate capacity given the data available is presented in Table A.2.

Table A.2 - Available and preferred methods for capacity estimation depending on data quality

Data Level	Methods available	Preferred method(s)
0	Rapid rural appraisal, survey, expert opinion	Combination of methods
1	Output-based measures: peak-to-peak, SPF, DEA, survey, expert opinion Input-based measures: based on available input information (e.g. ether boat numbers or gear use), survey, expert opinion	No preference, best to try all three output-based measurement approaches and compare results. All available input-based measures. Expert opinion may be necessary to determine input and output-based target capacity
2	Output-based measures: peak-to-peak, SPF, DEA, survey, expert opinion Input-based measures: aggregate potential effort and latent effort; aggregate size/power based measure of inputs (e.g. total kW), survey, expert opinion	SPF or DEA as only single output, but can utilize effort data to produce unbiased estimates All available input-based measures Expert opinion may be necessary to determine input and output-based target capacity
3	Output-based measures: SPF, DEA, survey, expert opinion Input-based measures: aggregate and fleet segment estimates of potential effort and latent effort; aggregate and fleet segment estimates of size/power based measure of inputs, survey, expert opinion Crude bio-economic models can be developed to estimate target capacity	DEA or SPF can provide species specific measures of capacity output Best available input-based measures Bio-economic model estimates of both input- and output-based target capacity
4	Output-based measures: SPF, DEA, survey, expert opinion Input-based measures: aggregate and fleet segment estimates of potential effort and latent effort; aggregate and fleet segment estimates of size/power based measure of inputs, survey, expert opinion Bio-economic models can be developed to estimate target capacity	DEA or SPF can provide species-specific measures of capacity output and economic measures using cost data Best available input-based measures Bio-economic model estimates of both input- and output-based target capacity