FFA launches new Electronic Vessel Register and Port State Measures Systems

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) today, 21 March, launched a major upgrade and development to their monitoring and surveillance efforts, with two new systems built for vessel registrations and Port State Measures.

The Electronic Vessel Register and the Electronic Port State Measures (e-PSM) System was unveiled by FFA Director General Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen at the 27^th Annual Monitoring Control Surveillance Working Group (MCSWG27) Meeting currently underway in Honiara.

This system is a critical tool in the fight against Ilegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) in the Western and Central Pacific, enhancing port State measures through streamlined and efficient data exchange. It will enhance fisheries management and conservation efforts across the Pacific.

Challenges

Tonga is the first country to attempt to implement a transition from manual work to the new digitised paperless system. At the launch, Losaline Otukolo from the Tonga Ministry of Fisheries thanked the FFA and donor partners involved in the development of the e-PSM.

“Being the first nation to implement the e-PSM is a great blessing for us. We trust that this system enhances the national systems through a fully integrated, digitised, and paperless workflow, thus easing the burden of manual systems that we currently implement. There will be challenges that we intend to overcome as part of the implementation process.”

The systems were developed in partnership with Australian web developer Eighty Options and supported by the New Zealand Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and FFA.

“This is a significant step towards data access, accuracy and efficiency to inform vessel registration and risk assessment processes and sharing and exchange of information to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to promote sustainable fisheries management across the Pacific,” stated the FFA.

Online Vessel Registration System

The new Online Vessel Registration System streamlines the registration process for fishing vessel operators, ensuring a more efficient and user-friendly experience. Vessel operators can now directly apply, upload necessary documents, and monitor their application status online, significantly reducing manual processing times and improving the accuracy of the vessel registry information.

The e-PSM system is a breakthrough for a Regional Fisheries Body, offering a real-time platform for the sharing and exchange of information across Members’ ports.

Developed in close consultation with FFA Members, the e-PSM system operationalizes the Regional PSM Framework and is aligned with international standards set by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) 2017-02 and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).

Speaking at the launch and demonstration of the e-PSM tool, Josaia Maiwai from the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries thanked the FFA secretariat for the development of the e-PSM system.

“Fiji is in their initial stage of piloting the system, and we highly recommend Members to take into consideration the usage of this tool. We believe that by having this system, it would greatly assist in standardising our risk analysis and improve our documentation system of vessels entry into port and departure.”

FFA assists 17-member countries to sustainably manage fishery resources that fall within their 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). FFA provides expertise, technical assistance and other support to its members who make decisions about their tuna resources and participate in regional decision making on tuna management.