Warnings

1. Much of the information provided on Catch Effort returns is considered by fishers to be commercially sensitive. The Ministry has a set of Guidelines for releasing information (PDF format) that Ministry staff should ensure they are familiar with. For example - the release of Catch Effort information that contains fisher, company or vessel names, or accurate fishing locations, should be authorised by the Research Data Manager. Scientists and researchers who have been given access to such information also require authorisation from the Research Data Manager before they can publish it. If in doubt, ask !

2. There are issues with Catch Effort data which affect how you should interpret it. The Research Data Management Group has documented many of the issues known to them in the Information Interpretation System which runs automatically as part of the Ministry's Fisheries Information System (FIS). For the purpose of this library the IIS has been converted to an excel spreadsheet. For most scientific and research uses it is not appropriate to take Catch Effort information "at face value".

3. This library was produced as a guide for fisheries scientists and researchers. The information contained in this library does not amount to legal advice and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. If you have any queries about the information, please seek independent legal advice.