Three New Zealand fishing companies - Aotearoa Fisheries, Sanford and Leigh Fish - are some of the first companies to commit to fitting vessel monitoring systems (VMS) on all trawlers within their fleets operating on the east coast of the North Island, from the Far North to the bottom of the Bay of Plenty.
This voluntary action will see vessels catching more than five tonnes of snapper annually having VMS fitted before October this year. Installation has already begun.
Aotearoa Fisheries CEO Carl Carrington says, “We are absolutely committed to a sustainably managed fishery and we need to dispel the myths about what happens on the water. It makes no sense for us to be doing anything on the water that compromises the long term health of the fish stocks. So having this technology on the boats gives everybody confidence that what is happening, is what we say is happening”.
The VMS units send back data 24/7, which can be monitored by the vessel owner, the Ministry for Primary Industries and fisheries research company, Trident Systems. Trident’s role is to efficiently gather data and information that can be used to more effectively manage fish stocks.
Darren Guard, FishEye Project Manager from Trident Systems says, “We’ll be able to gather plenty of information that will help us understand the status of stocks so we can react quickly where there are fluctuations or downturns. It gives us the ability to make better decisions, so it makes VMS a very proactive fisheries management tool.”
This project is being co-funded by quota owners and vessel owners, and the investment is significant.
VMS also means that should an incident occur on the water, the vessel involved can be quickly identified by Trident Systems who will then work with MPI to respond.
“Our fishers are out on the water in all sorts of conditions to put fish on our tables. We need to know exactly where these boats are at any point in time should something go wrong”, says Mr Carrington.
