Thumbnail Image

Fishing operations. 1. Vessel monitoring systems

Year of publication 1998

Pages 58

Author Mr Phillip Marshall and Mr Robert T.;Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 9251041792

Series title FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries

Series number 1020-5292 - No.1Suppl.1

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) have greatly increased the potential efficiency of Monitoring Control and Surveillance of fishing vessels (MCS). In the last few years several countries have introduced VMS which enable the activities of fishing vessels to be monitored and indeed for such vessels to actively report on catches to the fisheries management authority. This document summarizes the state of the art of VMS and gives guidance to fisheries administrators considering implementing VMS in the ir fisheries management systems and to all other personnel involved in fisheries MCS. VMS provides another very effective tool for MCS, particularly for some developing countries that lack the financial and physical resources to support an effective conventional MCS capability. In this respect, indications are given for the cost of setting up and operating a national VMS system. For those countries which already have existing MCS, VMS will make those conventional MCS measures more effective an d possibly less costly. Attention is drawn to the need for recommendations on common data exchange formats and protocols. This is seen as an immediate problem which needs urgent attention. Eventually these recommendations may be adopted as an international standard for a common international data exchange format in VMS and in catch reporting. Finally, the role VMS will have on the implementation of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the FAO Compliance Agreement and the FAO Code of Conduct is also add ressed. Coastal States, which apply VMS to national and foreign fishing vessels licensed to fish in their EEZs, can monitor the activities of such vessels very effectively and economically, thereby increasing the effectiveness of their MCS.

Cite this content as:

FAO Fishing Technology Service.Fishing operations. 1. Vessel monitoring systems.FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries. No. 1, Suppl. 1. Rome, FAO. 1998. 58p.

Language English

Also available in:

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Mapping coastal aquaculture and fisheries structures by satellite imaging radar
    Case study of the Lingayen Gulf, the Philippines
    2004
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Inventory and monitoring of coastal aquaculture and fisheries structures provide important baseline data for decision-making in planning and development, including regulatory laws, environmental protection and revenue collection. Mapping these structures can be performed with good accuracy and at regular intervals by satellite remote sensing, which allows observation of vast areas, often of difficult accessibility, at a fraction of the cost of traditional surveys. Satellite imaging r adar (SAR) data are unique for this task not only for their inherent all-weather capabilities, very important as aquaculture activities mainly occur in tropical and subtropical areas, but essentially because the backscatter from the structure components allows for their identification and separation from other features. The area selected and object of the study has been Lingayen Gulf, sited in Northwestern Luzon Island, the Philippines, where all these structures of interest occur. F ield verification of the methodology resulted in the following accuracy: fishponds 95 percent, fish pens 100 percent. Mapping accuracy for fish cages was estimated at 90 percent and for fish traps at 70 percent. The study is based on interpretation of SAR satellite data and a detailed image analysis procedure is described. The report aims at the necessary technology transfer for an operational use of the approach indicated in other similar environments.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Reports of the regional vessel monitoring systems workshops: Southwest Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, Central America and Southeast Asia 2005
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Four regional workshops on vessel monitoring systems (VMS), respectively covering the Southwest Indian Ocean, Central America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, were organized and implemented in succession from September 2003 to October 2004. The workshops were intended to promote the use of VMS as an additional instrument for the management of fisheries, both at a national level and in cooperation with regional fisheries bodies. They comprise one aspect of FAO's larger set of activities to impl ement the International Plan of Action (IPOA) to Prevent Deter or Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. This document includes a CD-ROM.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Report of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission Workshop on Vessel Monitoring Systems. Saly, Senegal, 14-17 October 2002 2002
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) Workshop on Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) was held in Saly, Senegal, from 14 to 17 October 2002. The workshop objectives were to: (a) sensitize the SRFC Member States on the potential of VMS as a complement to their other monitoring, control and surveillance activities; and (b) foster discussions at a technical level leading to the formulation of a subregional strategy for cooperation on VMS. The workshop proposed that the following actions could be considered by the Coordinating Committee of the SRFC: (a) recommend to the Council of Ministers that the key elements of the report be accepted as a subregional VMS strategy; (b) instruct the Permanent Secretary regarding future actions; and (c) prepare a suitable information document for potential donors and financiers.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.