23 Fijian flagged tuna long-line fishing vessels will get electronic monitoring systems (EMS) thanks to a memorandum of understanding between the Fijian Government and the Fiji Fishing Industry Association, reports Fiji Times Online.

Under the "common oceans areas beyond national jurisdiction tuna project" implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Fiji is one of two pilot sites that will receive the EMS over a three-year period, the other being Ghana.

The EMS cameras are mounted at different positions on the vessels, allowing observers to view and even measure the size of fish using the images alone. Video of the catches are saved via hard drives and returned to the ministry of fisheries to view and compare records of the vessel catch.