Faria WatchDog®, Inc., has announced that its Iridium-based vessel monitoring system (VMS) has been type approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for installation on commercial fishing vessels in US waters.
The type approval was awarded to Faria by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), certifying that system meets the federally-mandated performance standards for operation in US fisheries. Under regulations adopted by the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), commercial fishing vessels working in protected fisheries are required to be fitted with an approved tracking device, permitting OLE authorities to monitor their locations.
“This is the first Iridium satellite solution to be certified under the OLE regulations,” said Greg Ewert, executive vice president at Iridium. “Iridium’s ubiquitous, gap-free coverage over all US fisheries, as well as its reliable, low-latency satellite data links, make it the ideal solution for this application.”
“Our objective was to design and build the world’s most versatile, configurable, reliable and cost-effective marine satellite tracking and communications system that meets both the National Marine Fishery Services’ stringent specifications and the demanding requirements of the commercial fishing industry,” said Dave Blackburn, president of Faria WatchDog. “This product has the potential to improve the industry’s fishing business. And, with the NOAA approval, we can now assist in protecting and restoring the fishing habitat while simultaneously providing the commercial fishing industry with technology that complies with all governmental regulations.”
“Interest in WatchDog has now exceeded US boundaries and the system will soon undergo testing for certification by the Australian government as well as other fisheries management programs worldwide,” Blackburn added.
The Faria WatchDog 750 VMS is a dual-mode transceiver product that uses the Iridium satellite network for position reporting and the Cingular GSM network for data services when working in range of shore towers. The unit provides text messaging, mandated VMS position reporting and activity code declarations, catch and notification forms, and e-mail as well as automatic transmission of required VMS data information to OLE authorities.
