Proposed Rule for Requirements Related to Approved Vessel Monitoring System Units. As part of NOAA’s Vessel Monitoring System Program, some commercial fishermen operating in federal fisheries are required to carry and operate onboard mobile transceiver units that report vessel location and other data to NOAA Fisheries. The purpose is to track vessel location for fisheries management and enforcement. In order to create a reliable and secure system, and to facilitate dependable mechanisms for fishermen to meet their responsibility to transfer data, NOAA Fisheries established technical and other requirements that mobile transceiver units and the associated communications services must meet.
All mobile transceiver units and communications services used in the vessel monitoring system must be type-approved for use—meaning the mobile transceiver unit and service must meet and remain in compliance with the type-approval requirements.
Currently, the type-approval specifications (requirements) are published in the Federal Register (73 FR 5813). These specifications provide the requirements related to: technical requirements of the unit, satellite communications, and data security, delivery, and latency. The specifications also address roles and responsibilities for the type-approval process, change control, customer service, billing, and litigation support.
A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2014, that will codify the type-approval specifications, revise latency standards, and establish initial type-approval, renewal, revocation, and appeals processes for industry and constituents. Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by October 24, 2014.