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Three year project examined how satellite communications could support fishing communities in Indonesia; saving lives in distress, linking coastal families to relatives at sea and improving efficiency and sustainability through a dedicated Vessel Monitoring System.
Estimated that approximately 40 lives have been saved during the project.
03 September 2019: Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, working with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, its Department of Fisheries, the UK Space Agency and other partners today marked the successful closure of a three-year fisheries innovation project. Using low-cost, solar-powered satellite technology on smaller fishing vessels, the project aimed to enhance safety, efficiency, ship to shore contact and offer potential fish stock sustainability improvements.
With Indonesia’s long coastlines and more than 17,000 islands, it is difficult and costly to monitor vessel movements in the country’s waters. Independent analysis by consultancy Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Limited, published today, showed that applying modern, satellite-based technology to smaller boats below 30 gross tonnage (30GT), not currently legally required, supported the local industry’s move towards safer, more sustainable and profitable operations. It also has potential to improve the ability of Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) to address illegal fishing.
With funding from the UK Space Agency and support from Inmarsat, this International Partnership Programme project was implemented to test the benefits and challenges of expanding the use of satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS). The tested satellite VMS system was expanded with various applications and is referred to as VMS+.
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