VMS for Artisanal Fisheries: How Papua New Guinea is Modernizing Small-Scale Fleet Monitoring
- 20 October 2025
- Category: News
For years, Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) were reserved for industrial fleets. In 2023, the National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea partnered with CLS to deploy NEMO, a satellite-based monitoring solution designed for artisanal and small-scale fisheries across the country’s 15 maritime provinces.
The initiative aims to enhance safety at sea, improve traceability, and support sustainable fisheries management, marking a new era of digital inclusion for traditional fishers.
The Challenge: Protecting Artisanal Fishers
Papua New Guinea’s coastal fisheries span 15 maritime provinces with thousands of small-scale vessels operating in remote waters. These artisanal fishing boats are economic lifelines for isolated communities, but fishers face mounting risks: unpredictable weather, aging vessels, no communication systems, and rising maritime tragedies.
Traditional VMS solutions designed for industrial fleets were neither affordable nor practical for small-scale fisheries, until a few years ago.
NEMO VMS: Real-Time Tracking for Artisanal Vessels in Papua New Guinea
Under Managing Director Justin Ilakini, Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority launched an ambitious modernization program. At its core is NEMO, a satellite-based vessel monitoring system designed specifically for small-scale fisheries.
NEMO transmitters are purpose-built for artisanal fishing. Each beacon is solar-powered, eliminating the need for batteries or electrical systems on traditional boats. The system provides real-time satellite tracking, delivering live location data even in the most remote waters without cellular coverage.
This enables rapid search-and-rescue operations when vessels encounter distress, while also monitoring fishing zones for regulatory compliance without invasive inspections. The rugged design withstands harsh marine environments and remains simple enough for fishers to use without technical training.
Implementation: Building Trust and Ownership
Success required overcoming unique challenges including complex logistics across remote islands, cultural hesitation about monitoring, and limited infrastructure.
The program gained traction through persistent community engagement, showing fishers that NEMO exists to protect them, not police them.
CLS’s global presence, with subsidiaries worldwide, proved essential to the program’s success. The strong and longstanding relationship between CLS Oceania, based in Australia, and Papua New Guinea authorities created a foundation of trust and regional expertise.
The dedicated teams at CLS Oceania brought deep understanding of Pacific fisheries contexts and maintained continuous engagement with local communities and authorities throughout the deployment.
A Model for the Blue Economy
Papua New Guinea’s VMS policy offers a blueprint for coastal nations with large artisanal fishing sectors. It proves that VMS technology can be affordable and practical for small-scale vessels, that fishers embrace monitoring when benefits are clear, and that innovation in traditional communities is evolution, not disruption.
For Papua New Guinea’s coastal communities, NEMO-equipped vessels represent the difference between surviving and thriving at sea.
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