Phnom Penh, Nov 11 (IANS): Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has been providing support for Cambodia's Fisheries Administration (FiA) to install 1,600 Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) units on marine fishing vessels by the end of 2025, according to an FAO press release on Monday.

FiA recently deployed 800 units on medium and large-scale marine fishing vessels, and planned to deploy another 800 units in 2025 in the coastal provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Kampot and Kep, the press release said.

Funded by the European Union (EU), the VMS units are solar-powered and do not require any external electricity connection.

"This is the second phase of the VMS roll-out for Cambodia and the units are installed on trawl vessels and other active fishing gear vessels greater than 12 metres in length," the press release said.

It added that the second-generation VMS unit is an improvement from the first phase where 125 VMS units were deployed to test the VMS system and functionality for vessels greater than 18 metres, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This VMS system provides benefit to fishers, for example if the vessel encounters problems, their last known location can be used to support any search effort and it is free of charge for installation," the press release said.

The project is aimed at supporting sustainable marine fisheries management, it said, adding that it will help Cambodia achieve a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive freshwater and marine fishery that will contribute to food security and poverty reduction.