The contract is part of the government's strategy to preserve the sustainability of its fishing activity in a country where the tuna industry accounts for 18% of the Gross Domestic Product.
The Solomon Islands government takes another step to strengthen its commitment against illegal fishing and guarantee good practices in the fishing industry, and to achieve so, they have once again trusted Satlink’s technology. The Spanish company was already awarded the installation of their Electronic Monitoring (EM) system, Satlink SeaTube, on board their longline fishing vessels in May 2020 to monitor and efficiently manage fishing activities. Now, based on the results obtained and with the aim of strengthening and ensuring proper management and transparency of their fisheries, the Solomon Islands have commissioned Satlink to provide technical support for the electronic monitoring systems and update their fisheries management center, for which the company will train the local administration team.
The signing of this new contract with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) of Solomon Islands is part of the government's strategy to preserve the profitability and sustainability of their fishing activity and resources, which is their second source of income after forestry. Specifically, it should be noted that the tuna industry accounts for 18% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Therefore, the MFMR bases this project on the conviction that Satlink's electronic monitoring system "has the potential to detect underreporting of target species in the longline fisheries and to identify inappropriate handling practices of endangered, threatened, and protected species". According to the fisheries authority of Solomon Islands, improving data on their fishing activity can help the archipelago better understand their vessels’ profitability and, therefore, their potential to generate added value.
This new contract expands the scope of the project initiated in 2020, which aims to provide electronic and/or human observation to all longline and purse seine tuna vessels flagged in the archipelago, with financial support from the World Bank through its Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program for the economic resilience of Solomon Islands.
In addition to certifying compliance with regulation, the analysis of the data obtained on board the vessels allows for generating reports on catch composition, bycatch destination or fishing grounds, among other key parameters to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fishing industry.
