FISHING IN TROUBLED WATERS

There is a big need for reliable surveillance systems for the Indian coasts, writes VAIBHAV AGRAWAL

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The center instructions cutting-edge Identification transponders had issued for installing Automatic System (AIS) on all fishing vessels that are more than 20 meters long as part of the security measures implemented after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, which saw Pakistani terrorists sail to the shore of the metropolis on a hijacked Indian boat.

As opposed to the current practice of registering them separately under the MS Act and the respective State Marine Fisheries Regulation Act depending on the size and use, separate notifications were also issued by the shipping ministry for the registration of fishing vessels and boats of fishermen under one legislation the Merchant Shipping Act.

The AIS transponders, which automatically broadcast data such as position, speed, and navigational status of vessels via a VHF transmitter to a central control room, were also claimed to be used by these vessels for identification and location. Those transponders weren't used back then except by larger ships.

The signals are picked up by the AIS transponders installed on other ships or land-based systems like the VTS system. The information that has been received can be shown on a screen, similar to how a radar display would show the positions of the other vessels.

Need for vehicle monitoring systems

Following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, an ambitious project to deploy satellite-based Vehicle Monitoring Systems (VMS) for small fishing vessels (less than 20 meters) along the nation's coastline has yet to be implemented. Pilot studies have been done, but the project still needs to be completed.

The Cape Town Agreement (CTA) and the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) are the two main international regulations on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and India still needs to ratify both of them.