Support is growing for electronic monitoring of fishing vessels in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
Photo: 123RF
A Pacific fishing agency and a nation have called for 100 percent usage of electronic monitoring on longline vessels by 2023.
Such systems use technology like video cameras, remote sensors, satellites and hard drives installed on the boats to provide a range of information, including details on retained and discarded catch.
The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) is promoting E-monitoring and says it could be invaluable in providing critical science and compliance data.
In tuna fisheries, gathering information in this way is particularly important in the longline fisheries, where the large number of smaller vessels makes it impossible to achieve 100 percent coverage that onboard fisheries observers can give, the PNA said.
The PNA has been joined by the Federated States of Micronesia in promoting E-monitoring at this week's meeting of the the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in Hawaii.
