Lack of Compliance in Gillnet Fisheries Regulations Increases Risk to a Vulnerable Species

Trend in the usage of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) device is very low. The root causes of this problem are the high financial burden of VMS device toward fishermen and the lack of VMS device functionality for fishermen. In this paper, we propose a new working mechanism for VMS to address the imbalance mutual relationships in current VMS schema, using secure Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schema and opportunistic Device-to-device (D2D) Communication. Secure BYOD concept is chosen to minimize the initial and runtime cost of VMS device and also provide a trusted VMS platform. In another side, opportunistic D2D communication is used to minimize airtime cost and enlarging VMS networks coverage in non-internet available area by providing indirect VMS data delivery. As the result, fishermen are able to operate VMS device at a lower cost and at any location. In return, they receive direct benefit from using smart phone-based VMS devices, such as navigation assistance, e-log book, and multimedia entertainment. In another hand, by receiving trusted and more complete VMS data, the Government is able to monitor fishery sustainability in better way and also possible to give fishermen a reward based on their VMS data completeness, such as a fuel subsidiary or tax reduction. This reciprocal action, will rebalance mutual relationships of VMS implementation between fishermen and government and hopefully will increase VMS adoption within fishermen.

In this paper, we propose hybrid Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) design as alternative for current VMS scheme by collaborating internet connection and Disruption-Tolerant-Networks (DTN). The hybrid solution combines offline VMS that use radio networks and online VMS that utilizing satellite-based internet. Hybrid VMS aims to provide a more flexible VMS design and able to speed up delivery process of offline vessel’s data. The concept is both type of vessels must install a standard radio networks for data forwarding. The proposed method to speed up data delivery is by forwarding VMS data from one vessel to another using DTN forwarding scheme. Data can be forwarded to another offline vessel that will return to harbor earlier or to online vessels which have internet connection. Performance measurement is done through simulation analysis using ONE simulator. It aims to measure the speed up data delivery using hybrid VMS implementation compare to a pure offline VMS implementation. Simulation result show that hybrid VMS able to speed up data delivery for offline vessel data in 1.5 up to 2 times faster compare to a pure offline VMS implementation. Hybrid VMS also has advantages in flexible implementation by easily switching between online and offline VMS scheme, according to fisherman financial situation. Spray-and-Wait routing is the most suitable routing algorithm for hybrid VMS according to the efficiency ratio.

The original purpose of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) is for enforcement and control of vessel sailing. With the application of VMS in fishing vessels, more and more population dynamic studies have used VMS data to improve the accuracy of fisheries stock assessment. In this paper, we simulated the trawl trajectory under different time intervals using the cubic Hermite spline (cHs) interpolation method based on the VMS data of 8 single otter trawl vessels (totally 36000 data items) fishing in Zhoushan fishing ground from September 2012 to December 2012, and selected the appropriate time interval. We then determined vessels’ activities (fishing or non-fishing) by comparing VMS speed data with the corresponding speeds from logbooks. The results showed that the error of simulated trajectory greatly increased with the increase of time intervals of VMS data when they were longer than 30 minutes. Comparing the speeds from VMS with those from the corresponding logbooks, we found that the vessels’ speeds were between 2.5 kn and 5.0 kn in fishing. The cHs interpolation method is a new choice for improving the accuracy of estimation of sailing trajectory, and the VMS can be used to determine the vessels’ activities with the analysis of their trajectories and speeds. Therefore, when the fishery information is limited, VMS can be one of the important data sources for fisheries stock assessment, and more attention should be paid to its construction and application to fisheries stock assessment and management.

Lee, J., South, A. B., and Jennings, S. 2010. Developing reliable, repeatable, and accessible methods to provide high-resolution estimates of fishing-effort distributions from vessel monitoring system (VMS) data. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1260–1271. Vessel monitoring systems (VMS) are used primarily for fisheries enforcement purposes, but also provide information on the spatial and temporal distribution of fishing activity for use in fisheries and environmental assessment and management. A reliable, repeatable, and accessible method using readily available software for estimating fishing effort from unprocessed VMS data is developed, tested, and applied. Caveats associated with the method are identified, and the biases introduced by our assumptions are quantified. Application of the method provides a high-resolution description of gear-specific fishing activity by UK vessels. An index is developed to describe variation in the spatial pattern of fishing effort generated by different gears. The proposed method for VMS analysis involves removing duplicate VMS records and records close to ports, calculating the time interval between successive records to identify periods of activity, linking each record to a vessel and gear type, differentiating fishing and non-fishing activity, and summing fishing records in time and space to estimate fishing effort. The approach is a step towards the development of standardized methods to facilitate wider exchange and use of European VMS data. A clear audit trail for the methods of VMS analysis already used to inform management needs to be documented.

Stock allocations derived from vessel monitoring system (VMS) positional data from northeastern U.S. fisheries were compared with those obtained from mandatory vessel trip report (VTR) logbooks. A gear-specific speed algorithm was applied to VMS positions collected in 2005 from otter trawl, Atlantic sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus dredge, sink gill-net, and benthic longline fisheries to estimate the locations of fishing activity. Estimated fishing locations were used to reallocate the stock area landings of eight federally managed groundfish species. The accuracy of the VMS method relative to that of the mandatory logbooks was assessed using haul locations and catch data recorded by at-sea observers. The VMS algorithm tended to overestimate the number of statistical areas fished, such that when a trip's fishing activity occurred in a single statistical area, logbooks more accurately reflected the true fishing location. However, when fishing activity occurred in multiple statistical areas, the VMS algorithm showed appreciable gains relative to logbook data. Compared with mandatory logbooks, the VMS method achieved distributions of stock landings closer to observer estimates in 77.8% of the cases examined. The stock allocation percentages from both the VMS- and VTR-based methods were within 1.7% for all stocks, suggesting that the impacts on total stock allocations are relatively minor. However, these small differences represent major relative differences in stock landings for less abundant stocks such as southern New England–Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder Limanda ferruginea, where the VTR-based method allocated 61.9% more landings than the VMS-based method. The VMS-based method is not a replacement for the VTR-based method; however, it can and should be used as a tool to identify those vessels for which targeted outreach activities would improve the accuracy of VTR statistical area reporting.

Protected Areas (MPA) and No Take Zones are an effective tool for marine ecosystem preservation. Indonesia requires fishing vessels larger than 30 gross tons to use a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). Another way to detect fisheries is through Visible Infrared Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data. To compare VMS and VIIRS data, an R package, “LLFI” (Led Light Fisheries Identifier) was created. This package provides several R-functions that can calculate the location of VMS using vessels at the overpass time of the VIIRS satellite. An MPA near the Natuna archipelago was chosen as the research area. VMS and VIIRS data for the entire year of 2018 were obtained for this Region of Interest. The R function “vms2viirs” calculated activity for small purse seine fisheries all through the ROI and for bouke ami fisheries in the southwestern part of the ROI. The R Function “vms2viirsanalysis” created three buffers around detected fishing vessels by the VIIRS satellite and linked the closest found vessels from the VMS dataset. The amount of identified vessels for Class C was significantly higher than those for class A and B. Approximately 10% of all detected led lights could be identified with a shipping number from the VMS data set. Only around 8% of identified vessels could be found inside MPA and around 3% could be found in a No Take Zone. Paths of identified vessels that some vessels did cross MPA's and No Take Zones. It can be concluded that the LLFI package is working successfully.

Gerritsen, H., and Lordan, C. 2011. Integrating vessel monitoring systems (VMS) data with daily catch data from logbooks to explore the spatial distribution of catch and effort at high resolution. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 245–252. Vessel monitoring systems (VMS) automatically collect positional data from fishing vessels, and the data can be linked to catch data from logbooks to provide a census of spatially resolved catch-and-effort data. The most appropriate and practical method for integrating Irish VMS and logbook data is explored and validated. A simple speed rule is applied to identify VMS records that correspond to fishing activity. The VMS data are then integrated with the catch data from logbooks using date and vessel identifier. Several assumptions were investigated, and the resulting distribution maps of catch and effort appear to be unbiased. The method is illustrated with an example of a time-series of spatially explicit estimates of catch per unit effort. The proposed method is relatively simple and does not require specialist software or computationally intensive methods. It will be possible to generalize this approach to similar datasets that are available within the EU and many other regions. Analysis of integrated VMS and logbook data will allow fisheries data to be analysed on a considerably finer spatial scale than was possible previously, opening up a range of potential applications.

Since October 2017, Vietnam’s fisheries have made efforts to address the European Commission (EC)’s yellow card warning. One key factor in removing the yellow card warning was implementing a fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) to manage and monitor fishing vessels at sea and prevent them from violating foreign waters. However, there has been limited research evaluating the effectiveness of VMS in Vietnam. To address this gap, this study focused on evaluating the use of VMS in Ca Mau province, one of the country’s dominant fisheries. The study collected primary and secondary data from 94 surveyed fishermen who were captains and owners of Ca Mau fishing vessels equipped with VMS between December 2021 and April 2022. The findings showed that 99.5% of fishing vessels were equipped with VMS, with the ZuniVN-01 equipment being the most commonly selected (39.7%), followed by Viettel S-tracking (24.2%), and BA-SAT-01 (23.5%). However, these VMS failures occurred frequently, with the most significant being disconnection for more than ten days between the VMS onboard and the local control center. Despite these failures, 96.8% of respondents believed that VMS was effective, particularly for emergency rescue functions (73.4%). The automatic transmission of the vessel’s location via GPS every two or three hours received the highest rating (78.7%) from respondents. Additionally, most fishers (68.5%) believed that the core requirements of VMS were appropriate. Based on the study’s results, practical recommendations were proposed to stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of VMS.

Gerritsen, H. D., Minto, C., and Lordan, C. 2013. How much of the seabed is impacted by mobile fishing gear? Absolute estimates from Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) point data. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 523–531. Demersal trawling impacts extensively on the seabed, and the extent and frequency of this impact can be assessed using Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data (positional data of fishing vessels). Existing approaches interpolate fishing tracks from consecutive VMS locations (track interpolation) and/or aggregate VMS point data in a spatial grid (point summation). Track interpolation can be quite inaccurate with the current 2-hour time interval between VMS records, leading to biased estimates. Point summation approaches currently only produce relative estimates of impact and are highly sensitive to the grid size chosen. We propose an approach that provides absolute estimates of trawling impact from point data and is not sensitive to an arbitrary choice of grid-cell size. The method involves applying a nested grid and estimating the swept area (area covered by fishing gear) for each VMS point. We show that the ratio of the swept area to the surface area of a cell can be related to the proportion of the seabed that was impacted by the gear a given number of times. We validate the accuracy of this swept-area ratio approach using known vessel tracks and apply the method to international VMS data in the Celtic Sea.

Understanding the distribution of fishing activity is fundamental to quantifying its impact on the seabed. Vessel monitoring system (VMS) data provides a means to understand the footprint (extent and intensity) of fishing activity. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data could offer a higher resolution alternative to VMS data, but differences in coverage and interpretation need to be better understood. VMS and AIS data were compared for individual scallop fishing vessels. There were substantial gaps in the AIS data coverage; AIS data only captured 26% of the time spent fishing compared to VMS data. The amount of missing data varied substantially between vessels (45–99% of each individuals' AIS data were missing). A cubic Hermite spline interpolation of VMS data provided the greatest similarity between VMS and AIS data. But the scale at which the data were analysed (size of the grid cells) had the greatest influence on estimates of fishing footprints. The present gaps in coverage of AIS may make it inappropriate for absolute estimates of fishing activity. VMS already provides a means of collecting more complete fishing position data, shielded from public view. Hence, there is an incentive to increase the VMS poll frequency to calculate more accurate fishing footprints.

A pioneer validation of a state-space model of vessel trajectories (VMS) with observers’ data

Benoa Port has fishing vessel activities that are the foundation of Bali's tuna swamp fisheries (longlines). Sustainable tuna capture fisheries will be impossible to attain if the number of infractions in the marine and fisheries sectors continues to rise. The government's efforts to reduce infractions in marine and fisheries are achieved through tightening the oversight system. The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) surveillance system was created to reduce breaches in the marine and fishery sectors. The goal of this study is to determine the monitoring and suspected indication of violations of longlines using the VMS at the Benoa PSDKP as well as to learn about the capture fisheries management strategy using VMS data on longlines at Benoa Port using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. This study used a qualitative-quantitative descriptive technique with AHP analysis to determine the value of the management priority scale. Based on the findings of monitoring longlines with web tracks from January to December 2022, the most targeted fishing area was the Indian Ocean High Seas, and the most prominent suspected indication of violation was the inactivity of VMS when the vessel was operating. The main approach for managing capture fisheries utilizing VMS data on longlines in Benoa Port with the AHP analysis is for the government to offer subsidies for installing VMS on all fishing vessels, particularly those under 30 GT.

Recently, the satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) have been widely deployed on fishing vessels. Recognition of fishing activity is the key task for various applications. Previous approaches are basically according to change of vessel's speed; or rely on the validated data from logbooks or documented observations. In this paper, with a rated 60-second temporal resolution VMS data for two years on 34 vessels (typed as otter trawl) in the East China Sea, we propose a Fishing Activity Recognition system (FAR). It exploits Mathematical Morphology for analyzing the VMS trace data to recognize fishing activities and obtain fishing related metrics. Different from previous approaches, FAR carries out on VMS traces only, requiring no other reference like logbooks or any documented observations.

Fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) is an effective tool of fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance measures to counter over-fishing. It can also help the coast guard to safeguard vessels more efficiently. As VMS is widely implemented, more and more efforts focus on mining the VMS database to discover knowledge and clues that would further enhance the benefits .This paper reports on a density-based spatial cluster detection method developed for and implemented into the VMS of Taiwan. The request was to constantly identify wherever there are at least three fishing vessels within 10 nautical miles of range. The proposed solution was based on DBSCAN clustering algorithm. The performances in accuracy and rum-time were evaluated and improved with vessel position prediction, partitioning of datasets, data structure and algorithm design. With the promising results, this solution has been recognized by the fisheries management and VMS operation experts to be of many extended use in VMS.

Resumen Con el objetivo de intensificar la lucha contra la pesca ilegal, no declarada y no reglamentada (INDNR), el Gobierno del Perú modificó en 2020 la normativa que regula el ingreso de embarcaciones pesqueras extranjeras a puertos peruanos (Decreto Supremo Nº 016-2016-PRODUCE), estableciendo que aquellas que operen sobre recursos transzonales deben ser monitoreadas usando equipos satelitales VMS del Sistema de Seguimiento Satelital (SISESAT) del Ministerio de la Producción (PRODUCE). Esta normativa aplicó principalmente a las embarcaciones calamareras de aguas distantes y solo un número mínimo de estas instaló el equipo satelital requerido. Consecuentemente, la mayoría pausó sus ingresos a Perú hasta que, amparadas en una interpretación normativa sesgada, en mayo de 2023 los reanudaron a pesar de seguir operando sin los equipos. Luego de 370 ingresos a Perú en las condiciones descritas y ante un contexto de convulsión social, en septiembre de 2024 se promulgó el Decreto Supremo N° 014-2024-PRODUCE. Este reestableció el uso de equipos del SISESAT y, además, creó la “homologación de la señal de posicionamiento satelital emitida por embarcaciones pesqueras de bandera extranjera que cuenten con Sistema de Monitoreo de Embarcaciones”. Esta brinda una opción alternativa a los armadores extranjeros, permitiéndoles el uso de sus propios equipos satelitales en lugar del equipo del SISESAT. Sin embargo, la legitimidad de esta opción está en duda debido a que se estableció sin Análisis de Impacto Regulatorio Ex Ante. En el contexto descrito, el presente documento de trabajo busca aportar al entendimiento del estándar de seguimiento satelital del SISESAT aplicable a embarcaciones calamareras extranjeras, así como analizar los desafíos que presenta la homologación. El análisis ha permitido determinar que en el corto plazo es viable promover la instalación regular de equipos del SISESAT, dado que su implementación no necesita mayores adaptaciones por parte del Estado peruano; mientras que, garantizar una implementación de la homologación acorde al marco legal vigente requerirá superar considerables desafíos técnicos, legales y de seguridad. Abstract To intensify the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the Government of Peru amended the regulation governing the entry of foreign fishing vessels into Peruvian ports (Supreme Decree Nº 016-2016-PRODUCE) in 2020. It established that those operating on transboundary fisheries must be monitored using Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment from the Satellite Monitoring System (SISESAT) of the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE). This regulation mainly applied to the squid distant water fleet vessels, and only a few installed the required satellite equipment. Consequently, the majority suspended their entries to Peru until, supported by a skewed normative interpretation, they resumed in May 2023 despite continuing to operate without the equipment. After 370 entries to Peru under the described conditions and in a context of social tension, Supreme Decree Nº 014-2024-PRODUCE was enacted in September 2024. This re-established the use of SISESAT equipment and additionally created the “homologation of the signal of the VMS satellite equipment of foreign vessels with that of SISESAT.” This provides an alternative option for foreign shipowners, allowing them to use their own satellite equipment instead of SISESAT. However, the legitimacy of this option is in doubt as it was established without an Ex-Ante Regulatory Impact Analysis. In the described context, this working paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the SISESAT’s satellite monitoring standard applicable to foreign squid vessels, as well as to analyze the challenges presented by the homologation. The analysis has determined that, in the short term, it is feasible to promote the regular installation of SISESAT equipment, as its implementation does not require significant adaptations by the Peruvian State; whereas ensuring the implementation of homologation following the current legal framework will require overcoming considerable technical, legal, and security challenges. Palabras clave: Pesca ilegal no declarada y no reglamentada (INDNR). Embarcaciones de aguas distantes. Monitoreo satelital de embarcaciones. Sistema de Seguimiento Satelital (SISESAT). Análisis de Impacto Regulatorio Ex Ante (AIR Ex Ante). Transparencia pesquera. Homologación de señal satelital. Keywords: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU). Fishing distant water fleets. Satellite monitoring of vessels. Satellite Monitoring System (SISESAT). Ex Ante Regulatory Impact Analysis (AIR Ex Ante). Fishing transparency. Satellite signal homologation. Índice: 1. Introducción 2. El procedimiento regular: la instalación del equipo satelital VMS del SISESAT por parte de embarcaciones extranjera 2.1. Condiciones para la instalación del equipo satelital VMS del SISESAT 2.2. Requisitos que deben cumplir los proveedores satelitales y sus equipos satelitales VMS 3. El procedimiento alternativo: la homologación 3.1. La falta de consulta pública y validación a través del proceso del AIR ex ante 3.2. Consideraciones técnicas y legales para la implementación de la homologación 3.2.1. Los Estados de pabellón extranjero no se encuentran incluidos en el ámbito de aplicación del Reglamento del SISESAT 3.2.2. Factibilidad de que la homologación cumpla las especificaciones técnicas del Reglamento del SISESAT 3.2.3. El riesgo de usar instrumentos inadecuados para crear los procedimientos para implementar la homologación 4. Discusión 5. Conclusión 6. Recomendaciones 7. Agradecimientos 8. Bibliografía Table of Contents: 1. Introduction 2. The regular procedure: the installation of SISESAT VMS satellite equipment by foreign vessels 2.1. Conditions for the installation of SISESAT's VMS satellite equipment. 2.2. Requirements to be met by satellite providers and their VMS satellite equipment 3. The alternative procedure: homologation 3.1. The lack of public consultation and validation through the AIR ex ante process 3.2. Technical and legal considerations for the implementation of type approval 3.2.1. Foreign flag States are not included in the scope of application of the SISESAT Regulation 3.2.2. Feasibility for the type approval to comply with the technical specifications of the SISESAT Regulation 3.2.3. The risk of using inadequate instruments to create the procedures to implement the type approval 4. Discussion 5. Conclusion 6. Recommendations 7. Acknowledgments 8. Bibliography