Cabinet approves vessel monitoring system for multi-day fishing

Cabinet this week approved a proposal to establish a vessel monitoring system. The project, which will be funded through an Australian grant funding, will be operated in line with local and international legal requirements.

A statement issued by the Government Information Department stated that, in terms of the accord proposal 15/03 of Indian Ocean’s Tuna Commission, it is essential that the location of multi-day fishing vessels in the ocean be identified, search and rescue operations during disasters be implemented, and a vessel observation system be established to control illegal and informal fisheries activities carried out across naval routes utilising multi-day fishing vessels. 

In 2015, a vessel observation system was established utilising satellite technology for 1,250 multiday fishing vessels, registered under the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Apart from those vessels, according to the new proposal, the necessary equipment will be affixed to another 4,200 such multi-day fishing vessels. 

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution submitted by the Minister of Fisheries, which called for taking necessary actions for affixing the said vessel observation system across a procurement process conducted by the International Organization on Migrants and utilising a grant of AUD 5.38 million from the Home Affairs Department of Australia.