Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (iVMS) data from vessels under 12 meters in length

Inshore Vessel Monitoring Data (iVMS) is being collected due to the limited data available on the distribution and movements of the fishing vessels less than 12 meters in length, which are not required to have a vessel monitoring system on board under EU law. This dataset are the result of a pilot project under EMFAF funding aimed a collating VMS data on a subset of , 12 meter fishing vessels.

Data such as fishing vessel position, speed and bearing data are collected by satellite at a frequency of between 1-10 minutes when operating and at various lower frequencies when not operating from vessels under 12 meters in length located around the Irish coast. The data are collated by the Marine Institute and stored in a SQL database. Data products describing fishing pressure in hours fished per grid cell at 200 meter grid resolution can be generated from these data. Data collection began in 2014 and is currently still being collected. The number and gear types of vessels vary each year. The movements of vessels under 12 meters in length is not spatially recorded which leaves a gap in the data on fishing pressure for a large portion of the fleet in Irish coastal waters. Vessel monitoring systems has proven to be a reliable way to collate data on fishing vessel activity which allows the Marine Institute to report on fishing pressure in coastal inshore waters and to carry out risk assessments/ appropriate assessments under EU legislation e.g. Habitats Directive.