Leveraging
Technology and the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
The technological sophistication of the modern fisherman is incredible, and demands equivalent technological applications by law enforcement to ensure that regulations and laws are being adhered to while at sea.
Fishing quota, harvesting limits, "Closed Areas", moratoria, special management of fishing zones, and license-limitations have become more prevalent management tools to protect our depleting ocean resources.
In 1988, the OLE successfully embarked on a satellite-based vessel monitoring program to locate high-seas drift-net fishing vessels and monitor compliance with area restrictions in the North Pacific Ocean. VMS allows the OLE to monitor and survey vessels over vast expanses of open-water while maintaining the confidentiality of fishing positions. VMS allows the OLE to use 21st century technologies to monitor compliance, track violators and provide substantial evidence for prosecution while maintaining the integrity of the individual fisherman's effort.
The OLE has developed and implemented numerous domestic VMS systems while re-engineering the infrastructure for the national VMS program, and there are now over 5,000 VMS units in use.
Although not every fishery in the United States' EEZ uses VMS, expansion of the system into more fisheries is growing. In 1998, when the US implemented VMS for its EEZ fisheries, only 1,000 foreign high-seas drift-net vessels were required to carry the devices.
While several of the original 1,000 vessels have been alleviated from their obligation to carry VMS, numerous more fisheries were added. In 2007, the number of VMS-equipped fishing vessels jumped to over 5,000. This was partly due to the addition of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery.
Through international agreements and obligations through Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and requirement to utilize more-cost effective enforcement measures, the expansion of VMS-equipped vessels will undoubtedly increase.
