The Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC), previously known as the National Supervisory Centre, is a specialised unit within the
Irish Naval Service
The Naval Service () is the maritime component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork.
Though prece ...
responsible for sea fisheries protection and surveillance of all fishing vessels equipped with a
vessel monitoring system
Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) is a general term to describe systems that are used in commercial fishing to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to track and monitor the activities of fishing vessels. They are a key part of ...
. All Irish vessels operating inside and outside of Ireland's
exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
(EEZ) are monitored by the FMC, as are all internationally registered vessels operating inside the Irish EEZ.
The FMC has responsibility for operating the Irish vessel monitoring system (VMS), an information communications system that tracks vessels via satellite. The FMC is based at
Haulbowline
Haulbowline (; ) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. The world's first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the island is the main naval base and headquarters for the Irish Naval Service, with t ...
in
Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational ...
.
History
The Fisheries Monitoring Centre was originally established as the National Supervisory Centre (NSC) in the mid-1980s. Its introduction was in response to an effort to create a more automated and accurate system for the monitoring of fisheries data. Prior to this data on vessels operating at sea was paper-based. Such data included sightings, boardings, warnings and detention of vessels. The creation of the NSC was therefore created as a single point for the processing of all fisheries activity in the Irish EEZ.
In 1998 a Europe-wide scheme for the installation of transponder boxes in fishing vessels was initiated and with it an effort to modernise fisheries protection in Ireland. With that the NSC became the FMC in 1999.
References
{{Irish Defence Forces
Irish Naval Service