NEWSROOM
L.W.F.C.
Proposed Vessel Monitoring System
March 3, 2006
The Louisiana
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a Vessel Monitoring System
(VMS) Notice of Intent at their March meeting.
The VMS is
meant to maximize voluntary compliance with shrimping regulations
and to reduce purposeful shrimping violations by providing adequate
deterrence.
A VMS is required
for any person subject to a court order that requires monitoring
for the duration specifed in the court order and any person having
two or more convictions in the last five years for harvesting
shrimp during a closed season for a period of three years from
the date of the most recent conviction. People with three or more
convictions in the last five years for harvesting shrimp during
a closed season will be monitored for 10 years from the date of
the most recent conviction.
Commercial
fishermen who require to be monitored shall not be present on
board any vessel harvesting or possessing shrimp or which has
any trawl, skimmer or butterfly net on board unless the vessel
is equipped with and is using an approved VMS.
A vessel that
will have a monitored person on board must first notify the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) of the VMS installation.
Furthermore, VMS units must be approved, certified, installed
and fully operational on any vessel carrying a monitored person.
Public comment
for this notice of intent may be submitted to Maj. Jeff Mayne,
Law Enforcement Division, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries,
P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898 prior to May 4.
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