Fishing Vessel Monitoring Systems: Past, Present and Future

VMS: Past, Present and Future 29
4.7.1 Status of SAR
At present, SAR image data is only supplied in an operational service set-up for
the Canadian RADARSAT-1 and the European ENVISAT ASAR sensors. This
limits, to some extent, the frequency of area revisit and flexibility to programme
and order acquisition on short notice. VDS quality is determined by the quality
parameters of the input SAR imagery relative to the size of the detectable
vessels, the detection and post-detection filtering processes, and sea surface
conditions at the time of image acquisition.
A cost analysis is projected on the possibility to establish an operational VDS in
the near future. System costs are relatively straightforward to estimate, both in
terms of hardware and software requirements and required labour. They range
from ¤40,000 to ¤130,000 per VDS production chain, with annual maintenance
cost of ¤20,000 to ¤30,000 , depending on a number of choices and options.
Installation of an optional dedicated satellite communication infrastructure would
cost ¤100,000 per image supplier and ¤10,000 for each VDS production chain,
and would impose annual communication fees of at least ¤200,000 .
4.7.2 Cost of VDS
Implementation of FMC capabilities to receive and analyse VDS outputs lead to
marginal additional costs for individual FMCs, depending on the operational
scenario. Data costs will constitute the bulk of an operational system, its relative
size depending on the organisation and scale of the operations. Provisional
numbers for an integrated VDS service organised by the image suppliers that
cover European waters with a total data volume of 2,500 images per year would
be costed at ¤2,700,000 (65% of which are for data), which would include all
system and maintenance cost of the VDS production chain listed above.
Under the assumption of the estimate, over 6 million km2 would be imaged
annually. The short and mid-term outlook on the conditions for an operational
VDS are generally positive for 2005 and beyond. This is mostly due to the
increase of the number of space-borne SAR sensors that are scheduled for
launch in 2005 and beyond. The wider availability of SAR image data will lead to
improvement in monitoring and control options and will, in the longer term, put a
downward pressure on data costs. Developments in computing and
communication technology is likely to lead to further improvement in processing
speed and bandwidth, which would lead to a reduction in NRT delivery time,
possibly to within 30 minutes of image acquisition.
This approach is not without its limitations. At the time of this writing, the
resolution of SAR satellites is questionable for optimal use in VDS. Furthermore,
passages of satellites are infrequent and the cost of images remains high.
Nonetheless, a look at plans for future launches and technical specifications of