The 2019 proof of concept for on-board cameras

UPDATE – August 2023

Wider rollout of on-board cameras

Information on this page relates to the 2019 proof-of-concept (POC) on-board cameras. On 25 May 2022, the government confirmed details of the wider rollout. Between 2023 and 2025, up to 300 commercial fishing vessels will have cameras installed. All vessels currently operating POC cameras will transition to the new Spark system by 21 November 2023.

Find out about the wider rollout of on-board cameras

On this page:
Types of vessels and area chosen
Collecting footage from on-board cameras
Resources and documents
Related pages
Contact us

Types of vessels and area chosen

A key aim for this rollout of on-board cameras was to verify any interactions with critically endangered Māui dolphins. Coastal set netting poses the highest fisheries risk to Māui dolphins. Trawling poses the second-highest risk, with captures of Hector’s dolphins being reported from the South Island.

From 1 November 2019, trawl vessels (no more than 29 metres in length) and set net vessels (8 metres or more in length) had to operate cameras if fishing in the following areas:

Download a map of fishing areas (image) [JPG, 1 MB]

Download a map of fishing areas (PDF) [PDF, 31 MB]

These areas include the highest density of Māui dolphin distribution, as well as some low-density areas and potential habitat.

Government media release: Cameras on vessels to ensure sustainable fisheries

Collecting footage from on-board cameras

All footage collected with the proof-of-concept system is stored on a removable drive on the vessel, and automatically encrypted so that nobody can access it without the decryption ‘key’ held and controlled by MPI.

Monthly, while a vessel fishes in the area, the fisher needs to swap out the current drive and replace it with a blank drive, pack the drive in a protective case, and courier it to MPI using tracking. On receipt of a drive, MPI couriers the fisher another replacement drive, protective case, and courier bag.

Note: The new Spark system, due to be installed on these vessels by 21 November 2023 to replace the existing proof-of-concept on-board cameras, will eliminate the need to swap out drives, as all the encrypted footage transfer will be done over Spark’s mobile network.

On-board cameras, including rollout timeline