FFA launches tech mechanisms for management
The Fisheries Forum Agency (FFA) has launched two new systems for vessel registrations and port state measures in a move to leverage technology to enhance fisheries management and conservation efforts across the Pacific.
The Electronic Vessel Register and the Electronic Port State Measures (e-PSM) were unveiled by FFA director general Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen on the margin of the 27th Annual Monitoring Control Surveillance Working Group meeting underway in Honiara, Solomon Is.
The FFA said the systems were developed in partnership with Australian web developer Eighty Options and supported by FFA and New Zealand government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
She said the systems marked a significant advancement in efforts to move from paper based to electronic reporting in the fisheries sector.
“This is a significant step towards data access, accuracy and efficiency to inform vessel registration and risk assessment processes and sharing and exchange of information to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to promote sustainable fisheries management across the Pacific,” Dr Tupou-Roosen said in a statement.
Josaia Maiwai, the fisheries officer with the Offshore Fisheries Management Division in the Ministry of Fisheries, acknowledged the secretariat’s support on the development of the e-PSM system.
“Fiji is in their initial stage of piloting the system, and we highly recommend members to take into consideration the usage of this tool,” Mr Maiwai said in the statement.
“We believe that by having this system, it would greatly assist in standardising our risk analysis and improve our documentation system of vessels entry into port and departure.”
The vessel registration system enables operators to apply and upload necessary documents directly and will reduce manual processing times and improve accuracy of the vessel registry information.
The e-PSM system – a critical tool in combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing - offers a real-time platform for the sharing and exchange of information across members’ ports.