Overview of the Upgrade of the RFV Charter System – June 2025  

Background 

  • For several years, Flag and Host (chartering) CCMs have notified the Secretariat of their respective details for an agreed charter arrangement for individual vessels. Since 2023, the required notification and record of agreed charter details has been met by entering the information on the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels (RFV).  

 

  • The RFV CMM 2018-06 and associated standards, specifications and procedures (CMM 2022-05) guide the notification of charters and associated information. Specific timelines for Host CCMs in CMM 2024-03 apply to Commission Members and Participating Territories that charter, lease, or enter into other mechanisms with eligible vessels1 flagged to another State or Fishing Entity, for the purpose of conducting fishing operations in the Convention Area as an integral part of the domestic fleet of that chartering Member or Participating Territory.  

 

Charter notifications are required within 15 days, or in any case within 72 hours before the charter2. Any additional chartered vessels, changes to prior information, or termination of a charter must also be notified in the same timeframe3. Only vessels listed on the WCPFC RFV and not on the IUU List for WCPFC or any other RFMO, are eligible for charter. 

 

Overview of the Upgrade RFV Charter Functionality 

The previous Charters function focused on supporting flag and host CCM notifying and recording charters and identifying missing records. As has been the case for many years, inconsistent or incorrect details need to be edited by the Secretariat based on information from the parties. Added function was required to:  

  • clearly flag and identify inconsistent records; 
  • facilitate and provide easy ways to edit to update or correct records; and 
  • did not confirm whether a charter arrangement took effect on and from the notified date.  

The June 2025 upgrade addresses these limitations by automatically identifying and differentiating issues and clearly presenting them in a structured list. 

The upgrade enhances editing by CCMs and supports the capture of higher-quality charter data-essential for reliable analysis and reporting—while also bringing greater clarity to charter arrangements and resolving inconsistencies to improve overall data quality. 

  • By requiring Host CCMs to confirm when a charter has begun, the system adds an important layer of validation. It also improves clarity regarding which CCM (host or flag) is responsible for a vessel at a given time. 

    Importantly, it enables CCMs to: 

    • Edit charter records: Once a charter has been “matched,” CCMs can edit the Charterer name, Charterer address, Start date, End date, Area of application, and Notes fields. 
    • New “Confirmed Started” Field: After the planned start date, the Host CCM must explicitly confirm that the charter began as intended. 
    • New pending issue statuses: These appear on the Dashboard on the panel “Charter Notifications Pending”, and when you select Browse My Charters” from the “Actions” panel on your Dashboard.  
      • The statuses are “Confirmation Pending” (when the start date has passed but the charter is not confirmed),  
      • “Needs Review” (prompting CCMs to address inconsistencies) and  
      • “Missing Matching Charter”. Note for historical charters there may be dates that overlap with other charters that need resolved before an update can be saved.  


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      • Editing after charter confirmation: Even after a charter is confirmed, CCMs may still edit the Charterer name, Charterer address, End date, Area of application, and if useful, include supporting information in the Notes field. 


      • New charter cancellation field: If a CCM wishes to cancel a charter before the start date, they can now void it using the cancellation function to confirm the charter will no longer take place.