The exercise focused on addressing complex situation involving ships suspected of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing around Salinas and the Galapagos Islands.

The exercise involved some 700 sailors and observers from multiple participating countries, including vessels from the United States and Peru. It included maritime interdiction manoeuvres, management of rules of engagement (ROE), rules of use of force (RUF), Command and Control, using the ORION System developed by the Ecuadorian Naval Shipyards (ASTINAVE).

The exercise included maritime security, law enforcement and crisis management activities, training the Multinational Task Force to strengthen interoperability, communication protocols and capabilities between multinational forces.

To facilitate the coordination and exchange of information at sea, participating agencies used IORIS, the Indo-Pacific Information Sharing Platform.

The successful conclusion of the exercise demonstrated the willingness and commitment of participating agencies and governmental bodies to ensure for maritime safety and security and to improve the joint response to real-world emergencies in today’s complex world. At the same time, IORIS proved to be a reliable communications platform for interagency planning and coordination at the national level, facilitating exchange of information, to respond in a timely and effective manner to complex maritime incidents.

During their speeches, Division General-SP Luis Lara Jaramillo, Minister of National Defence and Rear Admiral Óscar Noboa Estrella, Commander of Naval Operations, underlined the importance of international cooperation to neutralise possible maritime threats: “It is important to mention that without information exchange and planning there cannot be a safe sea. For the Ecuadorian Navy, achieving this requires Naval Power since more than 80% of the commercial exchange in the world is carried out by sea.”

Martin Inglott Cauchi, CRIMARIO project director, stated that: “We appreciate the cooperation that is being strengthened between the Ecuadorian Navy and the EU-funded project CRIMARIO II. Through the exercise, we saw IORIS supporting live exercises with assets at sea also plugging into the system, for the secure exchange of information exchange and operational coordination; through our collective efforts, we can address maritime challenges together. Thanks go to the Ecuador Navy for trusting CRIMARIO and agreeing to join and fortify the IORIS Community.”

Charles-Michel Geurts, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Ecuador, participated in the event and said: “In today’s challenging maritime environment, good cooperation between the relevant government agencies is key. Ecuador and the EU work together to increase maritime security cooperation, and projects such as CRIMARIO are instrumental in this regard. exercises like this one are extremely useful in building the necessary coordination capacity, and IORIS has proven to be a valuable collaborative tool.”

L’article GALAPEX 2023: working togheter to address Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

Stop Illegal Fishing, Trygg Mat Tracking and their partners have produced the ‘Document Verification Manual: Vessel Identity’ to provide practical training and case studies illustrating how document verification has been used to uncover cases of illegal fishing.

In 2018, INTERPOL warned about resurgence in fraudulent abuse of flag State registries for fishing vessels, which confirmed what had been observed through investigations by the FISH-i Africa and West Africa Task Forces and internationally in the past years. Yet, little information is available on vessel identity fraud and how this widespread fisheries crime is facilitated by document forgery.

This manual focuses on vessel identity, nationality, authorisation status, operational history, and related fraudulent practices, and primarily looks into what a vessel “says” about itself, rather than what the catch “says”. The use of genuine documents obtained by corruption or deception, documents that have been doctored, fake documents that have been created and the use of documents incorrectly are considered.

Read more and download the Verification Manual: Vessel Identity in English, French and Portuguese.

L’article ‘Document Verification Manual: Vessel Identity’ is published est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

Although fishing vessels are exempted from an International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirement that vessels above 300gt and engaged in international voyages use AIS, some flag and coastal States do mandate the usage of AIS by fishing vessels flying their flag or operating in their waters. In addition, large numbers of fishing vessels use AIS voluntarily as an aid to navigation, and as an operational and safety tool.

AIS receivers have been placed on low-earth orbit satellites since 2008, which has greatly increased coverage and means that AIS signals can be detected from vessels operating beyond the 40nm range of land-based AIS receivers. There are some technological limitations to AIS, however providers are continuously taking steps to improve AIS performance, including the recent launch of more and improved satellites.

All of these factors have contributed to increasing the utility of AIS as a fisheries monitoring tool. Duncan Copeland of Trygg Mat Tracking, a specialist in AIS data analysis commented, “Like any other fisheries monitoring tool, AIS has advantages and disadvantages, and is most effective when used in combination with other intelligence sources. AIS is the least expensive vessel monitoring system capable of both near shore and high seas monitoring, and has the benefit of transparency, as data is unencrypted and can be received by anyone with the appropriate equipment. However, software and human analytical capacity is required to translate raw AIS data into usable intelligence and is an integral cost of using AIS.”

Since the formation of FISH-i Africa in 2012 routine monitoring of AIS data has triggered a number of investigations into illegal fishing in the Western Indian Ocean. These investigations have resulted in: the exposure of a fake licensing operation in Tanzania; highlighted repeated cases of illegal fishing in Somali waters; led to action against the JIN SHYANG YIH 666/668 tracked operating without the necessary authorisation from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC); and, in cases such as that of CHI HSIANG NO.7 and KARYA WIJAYA, the identification of vessels using false or shared identities.

Recognising the value of AIS and the need to maximise the impact of AIS as a tool to reduce illicit fishing activities is the key message. Coastal, flag and port States are recommended to require AIS use through, where possible, regionally harmonised, coastal, flag and port State measures (including as a licensing and registration requirement) and RFMO conservation and management measures.

Access and analysis of this AIS data for port to port tracking of foreign flagged fishing vessels coupled with systematic analysis, combined with VMS data when available, will help unlock the potential of AIS in support of MCS activities.

Access to the full article published by Stop Illegal Fishing.

Access to the report “The Potential Use of AIS as a Fisheries Monitoring Tool”.

L’article The Potential Use of AIS as a Fisheries Monitoring Tool est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.