A two-year pilot project covers the design and implementation of the monitoring systems on two Cypriot transshipment vessels, and includes support, maintenance, and training of personnel for the management of these systems.
The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of the Government of Cyprus selected Spanish company Satlink to provide technology to digitally monitor and manage the transshipment of catches and thus ensure their compliance with both national and European legislation.
Satlink’s offering is 100% compliant with European regulation on fisheries control as set out by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the project is 90% financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014-2020 by the remaining 10% by Cyprus.
Satlink plans to equip the vessels in this project with one of the most advanced IoT (Internet of Things) systems currently available on the market for monitoring and managing fishing activity and good practices. With the capacity to install up to eight cameras, the SeaTube Nano will also have numerous sensors on board, which will complement images from the recordings. These sensors will provide data and information on different parameters, such as light, door opening, temperature or crane loading, and crane loading sensors are a new development pioneered by Satlink.
The system will transmit GPS information, sensors, and periodic images to the Fisheries Monitoring Center wirelessly and in real time via a 4G communications system. The authorities will also have the capacity to download videos, in case a more in-depth analysis of a specific aspect is required.
The company will also be in charge of the training plan for the control center personnel in the use of the software platform developed by Satlink, and will carry out the analysis of three trips for each of the vessels.
‘This is a major project. The monitoring system that we are going to install is, due to its capacity, complexity, and the number of devices it uses, one of the most complete in the fishing industry in the world right now,’ said Pablo Torralbo, director of Satlink’s EM business line.
‘It’s therefore a major challenge, but one that confirms our position as a leading supplier to any government, regulator or company considering adopting this type of system, which is essential to ensure compliance with fishing regulations.’
Satlink has carried out more than 250 installations in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, in collaboration with governments, NGOs and shipping companies.
Among its most recent projects, those developed with the governments of the Solomon Islands, Micronesia and Seychelles, countries with economies highly dependent on fishing, stand out. In the case of the Pacific Ocean, Satlink leads this market with more than 110 vessels from fleets of nine countries monitored.
