Vessel Monitoring System trial for the 2026 black teatfish season

All fishers participating in the 2026 black teatfish season will be required to use vessel monitoring systems (VMS).

The Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) Standing Committee has decided to run a one-season trial of VMS, which is used to monitor where fishing is happening. These devices are used in nearly all Australian fisheries and provide a range of benefits to fishery stakeholders.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) will manage the trial and provide small, solar-powered VMS units to fishers at no cost, with support from the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA). 

AFMA will contact existing licenced fishers in the days leading up to the black teatfish season opening date and supply the VMS units. New fishers will need to apply for their licence at least 3 weeks before the fishery opens to ensure they receive their VMS unit in time.

After the 2026 black teatfish season, AFMA will prepare a report to the PZJA on the trial outcomes. The units will be removed and go back to AFMA. Any future decisions on the use of VMS in the Torres Strait Bêche-de-mer Fishery are in the hands of the PZJA and Torres Strait communities.

The PZJA Standing Committee agreed to the black teatfish VMS trial in July 2025 with support from committee members representing AFMA, the TSRA and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.

Key reasons for trialling VMS include:

• keeping the black teatfish fishery sustainable for future generations of Torres Strait Islanders
• reducing compliance costs, so more resources can be used in other important areas like tackling illegal foreign fishing in Northern Australia
• providing better data to help manage the fishery – the more we know, the better chance the fishery can grow
• ensuring that black teatfish caught in the Torres Strait Bêche-de-mer Fishery can be traded internationally and get the best prices possible to support local communities.

The VMS data will be held securely on AFMA’s VMS system, which is only accessible to authorised AFMA officers. AFMA will provide fishers with their own boat’s VMS data on request.

VMS licence conditions for the 2026 black teatfish season

All licences to fish in the 2026 black teatfish season will include special conditions for the VMS trial:

• All licenced boats operating in the 2026 black teatfish fishing season must have a VMS unit.
• The VMS units must be fixed to the nominated boat using a tamper evident seal.
• Fishers must not interfere with the VMS unit or the seal unless authorised.
• Fishers will be able to move the VMS devices to a replacement boat (for example, if the first boat breaks down).
• AFMA will be able to exempt a licence holder from the requirement to fit a VMS to their boat.
• AFMA will be able to have a mid-season closure and partial fishing days (in bad weather, for example).

Contact AFMA’s Thursday Island office:

Phone: (07) 4069 1990
Email: FisheriesTI@afma.gov.au