Croatia previously chose the same system for its fishing fleet.

EMA is total solutions provider of VMS and eLogbook systems featuring BlueTraker VMS terminals for tracking, surveillance and control of fishing fleets

Both Albanian and Croatian VMS include the provision of Iridium satellite network airtime (i.e.: VMS data communication). The Albanian system will be installed before the end of 2011 on 220 fishing vessels. In addition to previous 256 vessels installed by the same provider in 2007, an additional 200 devices will also be installed on Croatian fishing vessels.

Approaching EU membership

With the installation of VMS systems, Croatia and Albania are completing yet another requirement in their approach to full EU membership. Albania has been a potential candidate for EU membership since 2003 and hopes to be an official candidate soon, joining other official candidates such as Croatia and Montenegro. Albania’s status means the country qualifies to receive EU financial aid for installation of VMS system under the Instrument of Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

Croatia has been an official candidate for full membership since 2004. With the installation of VMS systems in Croatia and Albania respectively, both countries become part of the EU VMS network which already includes almost 10,000 fishing vessels over 15m length. In January 2012 the system will expand by another 11,000 EU fishing vessels between 12 and 15m. Other non-European members of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), as well as Montenegro (the last European country yet to install the system) should install the VMS before the end of 2013. Montenegro has been an official EU candidate from December 2010.

Best solution

Tracking and monitoring terminals with dual operation (using satellite and mobile networks) are probably the best solution for both countries, bearing in mind characteristics of the Adriatic Sea with a large number of islands in Croatia and the mountainous country in Albania. This type of geography is ideal for the GPRS communication along the shores and satellite communications on the open sea. As the switching from GPRS over to satellite channel and vice versa is seamless, fishing vessels that mostly navigate in coastal waters incur much less communication cost than they would if the communication was done via satellite channel only.

The EU requires its member states to conclude installation of eLog system for catch reporting no later than June 2011. Albanian and Croatian solutions are eLogbook ready - i.e. the onboard PC with eLog software just has to be connected to the terminal and the whole service activated.

BlueTraker solution terminals do not need antennas and antenna cables to be connected to secure the system against the geo-position forgery, which is usually done by manipulating the antennas or antenna cables. An integrated back-up battery (not as a separate pack) enables up to 72 hours of operation even when the vessel’s battery is switched off or the ship’s electrical power is down. This solution means that any attempt to cut the cable to the terminal or opening an enclosure is immediately detected and reported to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre.

SOS button

EMA says that the solution offers better safety to the fishermen as well. By installing the Distress Selective Call button (a sort of SOS button) as a standard, the fisherman is in a position to alert the FMC operator about a distress situation onboard (extreme weather, water ingress, fire onboard, pirate attack etc.). The DSC button is built upon stringent SIL3 safety standards and operates under any circumstances. It has “two way functionality” built-in which means that not only alert messages can be sent to FMC but also FMC operator’s “receive-acknowledgement” can be shown on the DSC button to greatly improve the fisherman’s confidence in the rescue operation. The alert message is sent via the Iridium satellite network, which is the only satellite network with truly 100% coverage of the Earth and the lowest messaging delay at the same time.

The BlueTraker solution is currently one of the most cost effective VMS/eLogbook systems on the market as it offers an all integrated VMS, plus eLogbook satellite terminal for efficient catch report data communication. This solution is adequate for nations with limited budgets. The system effectively helps in preventing overfishing in the Mediterranean by cross-checking the positions of the fishing vessels detected by VDS (space-based radar imagery) with position reports from VMS.

While IUU fishing destroys marine habitat and puts a lot of regional local fishers in a difficult position, battling for survival, these latest technology advancements enormously limit IUU activities.