NOAA Seeks Feedback on Fishing Vessel Tracking Rules
Published Date: 6/29/2026
Notice
Summary
NOAA is asking for public feedback on the rules for approving vessel tracking devices used in fishing. If you make or use these satellite or cellular systems, you’ll need to follow updated info collection steps. Comments are open until August 28, 2026, with no new fees, just a smoother approval process.
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
VMS Type-Approval Required for Manufacturers
If you make or sell vessel monitoring devices (EMTUs or EMTU-Cs) for federal fisheries, you must submit a written type-approval request and electronic supporting materials listing device characteristics, manufacturer/seller info, communication functions, data formats and transmission details, latency, messaging formats, data security, customer service, durability, and data-handling practices as specified in 50 CFR part 600, subpart Q. NOAA/NMFS estimates an initial application takes about 80 hours, changes take 8 hours, responses to a revocation take 24 hours, diagnostic/troubleshooting support takes 166 hours, there are an estimated 4 respondents, total annual burden hours are 9,458, and the estimated total annual cost to the public is $5,200.
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