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ANNEX I - STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR COLLECTION AND SHARING OF DATA

Seven articles constitute the standard requirements for collection and sharing of data: general principles, principles of data collection, compilation and exchange; basic fishery data; vessel data and information; reporting; data verification; and, data exchange. Often subject to disagreement between the DWFNs and coastal States, because of the need to maintain a fair and equitable balance, the provisions of this Annex represent a major step forward in the obligatory collection and dissemination of data. Coastal States, especially those from the Latin American region, were extremely protective of data collected and said that national legislation required that it should not be disseminated. Last minute proposals by Chile, supported by a handful of Latin American States, to alter issues of substance in the text, did not generally prevail. But the provisions of the chapeau in Article 3(2) were watered down by referring to "information" rather than "scientific information." The provisions of this Annex are fundamental tools for basic fisheries conservation and management objectives.