Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (I-VMS) devices for under-12 metre fishing vessels registered in England

WhatGuidance isfor I-VMS?the roll-out of I-VMS

InshoreThe Vesselroll-out Monitoringof SystemI-VMS (I-VMS) devices monitorhas inshorebeen fishingdelivered activityin bystages under-12and metremore vessels.than They80% areof similarthe English under-12m fleet has a type-approved device installed. A licence condition was introduced in May 2025 requiring their use, and the transmission of positional data, for English vessels when at sea.

Data transmissions to the UK VMS trackingHub from SC2 devices usedceased byon fishing11 August 2025. Ensuring that vessels ofare 12fitted metreswith anddevices greaterthat andtransmit willpositional help:

• improvedata to the managementUK VMS Hub is being prioritised and sustainabilityMMO ofhas ourcontracted marineCLS environment
• ensureUK properLtd fishingto practices
• preventsupply illegaldevices fishing
• helpto protectthose andimpacted enhanceto thesupport livelihoodsfishermen ofresume fishers.

compliance with the licence condition,

UsingOwners GPRSof mobilevessels phonefitted signals,with I-VMSSC2 devices providemust positionalregister informationfor (sucha asNemo latitudedevice andfrom longitude,CLS course,UK speedLtd, andwhich datewill be provided and timeinstalled ofat eachno positionalcharge, report)to whicheligible isfishermen who register by 11.59pm on Sunday 12 July 2026.

Letters and emails are being sent to MMO’seligible UKvessel VMSowners Hub.with Wheninstructions on how to register for a devicefunded isdevice. locatedYou outsidewill GPRSneed range,to provide the devicePLN of the eligible vessel to proceed, along with your vessel name and contact information. Following registration, devices will be sent to vessel owners, and the supplier will contact you directly to arrange installation by an approved engineer.

Vessel owners continue to storebe responsible for the positionalpayment informationof airtime contracts and submitshould maintain regular contact with CLS UK Ltd, and the dataengineer, onceto GPRSarrange coverageinstallation nextat becomesthe available.soonest Thisavailable isdate. differentMissed appointments, without adequate  notice to the VMSsupplier devicesor usedengineer, bycould largerresult vessels,in whichyou transmithaving datato viapay satelliteinstallation andcosts.

You cando becomenot expensive.need to apply for funding, but you do need to register by 11.59pm, Sunday 12 July 2026.

Why

Please isnote: If you do not receive notification from MMO to register but believe you are eligible for a replacement device, please contact our I-VMS beingteam introduced?

immediately, using the details on this page. 

Further guidance for vessel owners with SC2 devices

I-VMSRegister datafor willa provideNemo moredevice, detailedsupplied informationby onCLS theUK inshoreLtd, fleet.by This12 willJuly help2026 us- bettersee understandabove activityfor undertakendetails.

You byare thereminded fishingto industrycheck andcontractual obligations with the fullSC2 fleetdevice insupplier, ourSuccorfish, marineregarding environmentairtime, e.g.warranties, recreational,access charter,to commercial,positional non-commercialdata and guardshippurchase activity.of their device. SC2 devices should not be removed or switched off before the replacement Nemo device has been installed.

CombinedData withtransmissions to the UK VMS Hub from SC2 devices ceased on 11 August 2025, and MMO does not have access to this data. You should still be able to access your SC2 device data on catchthe volumes,portal scientific/ evidenceapp ofprovided stockby levelsSuccorfish. You can also request your data directly from the supplier.

The removal and disposal of a rangedevice is the responsibility of otherthe significantvessel data,owner I-VMSand willshould enablealways morebe efficientundertaken decisionssafely onand in accordance with local environmental guidelines and nationalMMO managementguidance, measuresat certified WEEE recycling providers.

Guidance for those fishing in the Devon & Severn IFCA district

Vessels fishing in the Devon & Severn IFCA district are included in this roll-out and policies.should Itregister willfor alsoa enableNemo MMOdevice to continuallybe improvecompliant itswith targetedthe assurancelicence activitiescondition asfor English waters.

Please contact the clearerIFCA picturedirectly ofwith fishingquestions activityabout your Rewire device.

Guidance for vessel owners without an I-VMS device

You will helphave highlightto whichcover vesselspurchase areand consistentlyinstallation complyingcosts withyourself. regulationsDetails are available on wherethe type approved devices page of gov.uk and whatplease theynote canthat fish,CLS andUK thoseLtd is the only supplier of a type-approved device that mayis introducetransmitting riskI-VMS data to sustainablethe seaUK fisheries.VMS Hub.

FishersMMO will alsonotify beyou ableahead of plans to trackresume theirenforcement ownof activitythe I-VMS licence condition, but you should act promptly to purchase and betterinstall understanda theirdevice to meet the obligations and conditions of your fishing effort.licence. Failure to do so may result in enforcement action for non-compliance..

I-VMS legislation

I-VMS licence condition

A licence condition for English licenced vessels was introduced on 12 May 2025, under the Fisheries Act (2020). The introductionlicence ofcondition legislationrequirements tostate makethat:

• All I-VMSEnglish mandatoryunder-12 wasmetre intendedvessels toregistered comewith intoa forcecommercial infishing 2024,vessel inlicence themust formhave ofa functioning MMO type-approved I-VMS device when undertaking a statutorytrip instrumentto (SI).sea.
• That Thisthe wasdevice delayedis dueswitched on and transmitting data to be received by the generalUK electionVMS inHub
• The Julydevice 2024is andnot manually overridden or tampered with to prevent the formationtransmission of adata.

Enforcement newof governmentthe licence condition remains measured and ispragmatic nowat duethis instage 2025.of the roll-out.

OnceFull details on the legislationoperational isrequirements inare place,outlined iton the I-VMS licence condition requirements guidance page.

Statutory instrument

A statutory instrument will soon be introduced by government, making a legal requirement for all vessels under 12 metres in length, both domestic and foreign, to have an inshore vessel monitoring system (I-VMS) installed and transmitting positional data to MMO, during a trip to sea in English waters.

As a responsible regulator, MMO continuesis tosupporting facilitateindustry preparationsin topreparing supportfor industry with these new requirements. To date, this has been achieved through device type-approval, grant fundingfunding, and a staged roll-out.roll-out Theand the introduction of a licence condition isfor theEnglish nextvessels, step in preparations, to ensure every fisher has the opportunity to be compliant before the new legislation is introduced.

Once the licence condition is effect, we will take a measured approach to enforcement and work with industry and suppliers to address any issues that may arise.

Existing legal measures

Fishers subject to existing legislation requiring the operation of an I-VMS device, such as under IFCA or Welsh Government legislation, should already have devices and be transmitting data.

Type-approved devices

Following independent testing, two I-VMS devices are type-approved by MMOMMO.

To forcomply usewith byyour Englishlicence licencedcondition, vesselsyou fishingmust inpurchase Englishand waters:

• Fulcruminstall NEMO.
• Succorfisha SC2.

Eachtype-approved vesseldevice willthat needtransmits topositional havedata itsto ownthe MMOUK type-approvedVMS I-VMS device installed.Hub.

DevicesPlease shouldnote onlythat:

• CLS beUK installed,Ltd fixedis orthe removedonly bysupplier suppliersof and/ora theirtype-approved approveddevice engineers.that Fishersis shouldtransmitting notI-VMS attemptdata to install devices themselves - any damage or manual interference could void the deviceUK warranty.
  VMS Hub.

If you have not yet purchased or installed a type-approved I-VMS device on your vessel, you should do so now.now Ifto youensure delaythat making these arrangements, you riskmeet delaysthe inobligations supplier and engineerconditions availabilityof whichyour couldfishing result in you being unable to fish legally and possible enforcement action.  licence.

Full details on suppliers, devices and how to order  cancan be found on the the type approved devices page of of gov.uk.

I-VMSWhat licenceis condition requirementsI-VMS?

TheInshore licenceVessel conditionMonitoring requirementsSystem state(I-VMS) that:devices monitor inshore fishing activity by under-12 metre vessels. They are similar to the VMS tracking devices used by fishing vessels of 12 metres and greater and will help:

• Allimprove Englishthe under-12management metreand vesselssustainability registeredof withour amarine commercialenvironment
• ensure proper fishing vesselpractices
• prevent licenceillegal mustfishing
• help haveprotect aand functionalenhance MMOthe type-approvedlivelihoods of fishers.

Using GPRS mobile phone signals, I-VMS devicedevices whenprovide undertakingpositional ainformation trip(such as latitude and longitude, course, speed and date and time of each positional report) which is sent to sea.

ThatMMO’s theUK VMS Hub. When a device is switchedlocated onoutside GPRS range, the device will continue to store the positional information and transmittingsubmit the data once GPRS coverage next becomes available. This is different to bethe receivedVMS devices used by thelarger UKvessels, VMSwhich Hub

Thetransmit devicedata via satellite and can become expensive.

Why is notI-VMS manuallybeing overriddenintroduced?

I-VMS ordata tamperedwill withprovide tomore preventdetailed information on the transmissioninshore offleet. data.

This will help us better understand activity undertaken by the fishing industry and the full fleet in our marine environment e.g. recreational, charter, commercial, non-commercial and guardship activity.

FullCombined detailswith data on thecatch operationalvolumes, requirementsscientific isevidence outlinedof stock levels and a range of other significant data, I-VMS will enable more efficient decisions on local and national management measures and policies. It will also enable MMO to continually improve its targeted assurance activities as the I-VMSclearer licencepicture conditionof requirementsfishing guidanceactivity page.will  help highlight which vessels are consistently complying with regulations on where and what they can fish, and those that may introduce risk to sustainable sea fisheries.

YouFishers canwill also viewbe andable downloadto antrack operationaltheir requirementsown step-by-stepactivity informationand sheet.better understand their fishing effort.

Data privacy

I-VMS data is accessible to all UK Fisheries Administrations and other agencies, including Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA), and can be used for a range of activity including monitoring compliance and informing evidence-based decision-making for fisheries management.

Your personal information including location information will not be accessible to other fishers or the public.

You can read the current privacy notice on the personal information charter.

Frequently Asked Questions

All of the information you need should be included on these guidance pages but there might be some areas that you require a little bit more information about.

Please read our our updated FAQs  forand furthercontact information.us if you cannot find the information you are looking for.

Contact us 

Our dedicated helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by calling 01900 508618, or you can email our I-VMS Engagement and Support team at ivms@marinemanagement.org.uk.