Marine Management Organisation
Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is reminding fishers with under-12m vessels that are yet to purchase their inshore vessel monitoring system (I-VMS) device, or have done so but are yet to claim their grant funding, that they have until 18 December 2023 to do so.
Last week, MMO reached a key milestone in its roll-out programme after passing the 30 November deadline for 6-12m vessel owners to order their type-approved I-VMS device and submit their claim for up to 1,050 in grant funding.
Uptake has been very positive; over 80% of fishers in the 6-12m sector have already acted, over 90% of fishers with smaller, under-6m vessels have also acted and over 1.2m has been repaid in grant funding to date.
With relatively few under-12m vessel owners still to purchase a device or claim their grant, MMO has confirmed all remaining fishers now have until 18 December 2023 to do so, but urges that they must act now or risk having to cover the cost themselves.
Peter Clark, MMOs Director of Operations said: The overall response by industry has been overwhelmingly positive and we thank the many fishers that have participated.
The high uptake of I-VMS device purchases and funding claims since we commenced this roll-out in August of this year has allowed us to support fishers and process grant applications well within the timescales we had anticipated.
As a result, we can now open the 18 December 2023 funding deadline to all under-12 vessels, including those remaining few fishers with 6-12m vessels. This gives everyone the opportunity to take advantage of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) before it closes.
EMFF grant money is only available for a limited time before closing at the end of 2023. After that, fishers should expect to cover purchase and installation costs themselves.
The new legislation, a Statutory Instrument (SI) that will require all under-12m vessels operating in English waters for commercial fishing to have an active I-VMS device, is expected to come into force in April 2024.
Peter Clark continued: While it is not yet a legal requirement for vessels to have an active I-VMS device installed, this roll-out programme has been designed to help prepare industry for the new requirements.
To ensure fishers are compliant when the SI comes into force, fishers should not delay booking the installation of their ordered devices with suppliers and their engineers. The longer fishers delay their installation the more they risk waiting for engineer availability and not having their device installed in time.
MMOs dedicated I-VMS support team is available for fishers during the remainder of the roll-out. Contact them on 01900 508618, Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm) or email ivms@marinemanagement.org.uk. Read more online at www.gov.