MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Installation of onboard video cameras begin

The Subsecretary of Fisheries, Norberto Yauhar.

The Fisheries Secretariat of the Nation has reported that an Integrated Control System has come into force, which involves the installation of video cameras on board the Argentine fishing fleet.

The system was created in September 2010 through Disposition 206/10 of the Secretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which established the obligation, for all high-sea vessels, to incorporate this control system that should enhance the activities already implemented by inspectors.

The objective of this legislation is to have more control over the basic information that originates in the process of fishing (vessel, location, catch, control, handling) in real time.

The Subsecretary of Fisheries, Norberto Yauhar, noted that the system will allow additional data such as fishing gear usage and the use of selectivity as well as the size of the species caught.

After the first working day of the year, the fishing vessel owners have 90 days to incorporate the cameras into their ships.

During the installation period, which will last for three months, “it will not be a sanctioning system as it is where companies begin to make service contracts and put everything on board in the system,” said Yauhar.

It also serves as a stage for “testing and tuning,” where adjustments are made to the method.

The legislation covers all fishing vessels with effective permits, excluding the artisanal fleet, which come under the provincial level. Therefore, the resolution invites the seaboard provinces to join this initiative.

The Argentine Coast Guard will be responsible for monitoring the enforcement of the measure and will not permit the exit of vessels that are not equipped with onboard cameras.

The video system consists of the installation of a sealed enclosure containing the video camera recording.

The registration and storage of the information is made by a handheld computer with GPS included which is connected to the video camera.

Recording starts automatically from when the net is lowered until the completion of the maneuver.

Once the fishing is complete, inspectors from the Secretariat, with technical assistance from the owners of the vessels, will be responsible for the removal of the internal memory for analysis. This is the most challenged part, as the owners argue it will be necessary to visualize a large volume of data.

Also, the fleet said the cameras do not solve all the problems and argue that “the result needs to be a study that pieces together resources and management and establishes comprehensive policies,” reports Pescare. (FIS)