The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is collaborating with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) providing additional surveillance capacity through a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS).
Specifically, EFCA is looking for additional ways to improve its fisheries control. Now, EMSA provided a quadcopter for flights taking off from EFCA’s chartered offshore patrol vessel, the Lundy Sentinel, and operating over areas of interest in the Mediterranean Sea, western waters of the North-East Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Baltic Sea.
Moreover, the RPAS enhances the current surveillance system, as it conducts pre-boarding assessments, surveillance during boarding and post boarding analysis to be carried out remotely, benefiting fisheries inspections and control.
RPAS when flying in the vicinity of a vessel is able to collect data in relation to the vessels ongoing activity, which can be then transmitted in real time to EFCA’s liaison officer deployed on board the Lundy Sentinel, as well as to EFCA’s coordination centre in Vigo, and EMSA’s headquarters in Lisbon.
See also:
- 48 States sign public declaration on fishing vessel safety
- New requirements for fishing vessels in the Eastern Baltic Sea from 2020
