The monitoring systems that will improve our fishing industry

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

THREE New Zealand companies whose fishing trawlers operate in East Coast waters have committed to installing monitoring systems on their vessels.

Commercial fishing vessels that operate under Aotearoa Fisheries, Sanford and Leigh Fish — and catch more than five tonnes of snapper a year — have already begun to fit the vessel monitoring system (VMS).

“We are absolutely committed to a sustainably-managed fishery and we need to dispel the myths about what happens on the water,” says Aotearoa Fisheries chief executive Carl Carrington.

“It makes no sense for us to do anything on the water that compromises the long-term health of the fish stocks.

“Having this technology on the boats gives everybody confidence that what is happening is what we say is happening.”

Sanford chief executive Volker Kuntzsch says his organisation wants transparency. With considerable investment in vessels, the company needs to ensure a profitable return. It depends on a healthy fishery, he says.

“A lot of effort has gone into understanding exactly how much fish we take, where that’s happening and what we can do in order to ensure that a very healthy percentage actually remain for future breeding.”

VMS units continuously send data that can be monitored by the vessel owner, Ministry for Primary Industries and fisheries research company, Trident Systems. Trident’s role is to gather information that can be used to more effectively manage fish stocks.

The newly-installed monitoring system means Trident will be armed with enough information for the organisation to be able to respond quickly to fluctuations, says Trident Systems’ FishEye project manager.

The VMS project is co-funded by quota owners and vessel owners. The system also brings a safety aspect for people who work on the vessels, says Mr Carrington.

“We need to know exactly where these boats are at any point in time, should something go wrong.”

Danish seine vessel da Vinci skipper Steve Lines says the technology is a good thing.

“Embrace it, don’t fight it. It’s going to help you in the long term.”