VMS Implementation Report

This first annual report on the implementation of VMS in the NPFC is provided pursuant to Paragraph 22 of CMM 2021-12 (VMS), which states:  

“The Secretariat shall report on the implementation of this measure annually to the Technical and Compliance Committee (TCC).” 

The NPFC regional VMS was developed following extensive consultation with the Members. It is one of the important measures identified in the NPFC Convention and became operational in August 2021.

One of the innovative characteristics of the NPFC VMS, and now used by other RFMOs, is to make use of the secure cloud to store the VMS data. This provided a cost effective means to manage and analyze the data securely.  The data feed is from the vessel to the fisheries monitoring center (FMC) of the flag. The flag FMC then forwards the information for use by NPFC via the VMS contractor (Communication Localization Satellites, CLS).

The complete data set is available to authorized staff in the secretariat. For routine enforcement patrols and compliance assessments, VMS data is provided to Members who have an enforcement presence in the Convention Area. Members do not retain access to the VMS data after the conclusion of their patrol other than if an investigation is underway.

The NPFC VMS is operated under a contract with Collecte Localisation Satellites SA (CLS) Group, based in Toulouse, France, and supported locally by a Japanese partner firm called CUBIC–I, which is based in Tokyo. The existing VMS contract expires in August 2023, and the Secretariat is renegotiating a second 2- or 3-year contract to extend the services for the provision of VMS.