Monitoring, control and surveillance
We us monitoring, control and surveillance tools to measure
fishing effort in marine and freshwater systems.
These tools help us to build up a body of evidence to support
fisheries management policies and plans. We advise on:
- approaches to the collection of appropriate data
- licensing and enforcing systems
- provision of management-information systems.
We can also identify opportunities to maximise the benefits of
various tools from existing systems in order to make efficiency
savings, without compromising the essential integrity of those
tools.
Vessel Monitoring Systems
We have practical experience of running vessel monitoring
systems (VMS) for government. As such, we advise policy-makers on
the design and operation of VMS: its use for policy
enforcement, and the wider application of VMS data in fisheries
management.
Determination of catches
A scientific basis for fisheries management requires accurate
and reliable data, so designing and implementing the most
appropriate data collection schemes is essential. Cefas as a
long-standing capability in all aspects of data definition, and the
methodologies and practicalities of collecting data from fleets,
ports, markets and fishing enterprises.
Our data collection advice covers:
- observer surveys
- recording catches and fishing effort in logbooks
- discard monitoring
- biological and other sampling, for quota-controlled and
non-quota-controlled species.
We also understand the complex issues of data mis-reporting and
how to collect data to make appropriate adjustments for stock
assessment and management purposes.
For more about our work in this area, please contact us.