Vessel Monitoring Systems required for all fishers participating in 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 Standing Committee agreed to a Vessel Monitoring System trial for the 2026 black teatfish season to support sustainability and compliance.
AFMA CEO Wez Norris and TSRA CEO Charlie Kaddy outlined the key sustainability reasons driving the trial including:
- 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
- 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.
- Helping to reduce the risk of overfishing for Black Teat as occurred in 2014 and 2015 which resulted in the fishery being closed for 5 years, with no income to the local community.
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).
After the 2026 black teatfish season, VMS units will be removed and go back to AFMA. AFMA will prepare a report to the PZJA on the trial outcomes to assess future use of VMS. Any future decisions on the use of VMS in the Torres Strait Beche-de-mer Fishery are in the hands of the PZJA and Torres Strait 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.
Fishers will not be permitted to take part in the 2026 black teatfish season unless they have a VMS unit fitted to their boat. Anyone found deliberately fishing for black teatfish without a VMS fitted will be in breach of a condition of their licence and subject to compliance action. Any fisher intending to participate must contact AFMA to arrange installation before the season commences. For more details, see 2026 Black Teatfish VMS Trial.