sharks
A hammerhead shark swims close to Wolf Island at Galapagos Marine Reserve August 19, 2013. Reuters

The Galapagos Islands has reeled in a boat load of technology, which is used to monitor and track ships, in a bid to protect its marine life from ships.

UK based Software Radio Technology (SRT) confirmed in a statement that it has received an order for over 400 Identifier Automatic Identification System (AIS) transceivers and a GeoVS Viewer, a display system for the tracking technology, for deployment in the highly protected Galapagos Islands.

"The order from the Galapagos Islands is in line with the global trend of authorities seeking to monitor their maritime domains using AIS," said Simon Tucker, CEO at SRT.

Figure 1
Figure 1 - Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology by SRT Reuters

"The Identifier was developed specifically for small fishing boat monitoring and so were perfect for this project.

"Although a small order, the Galapagos is an excellent showcase for the pending Ecuador fishing fleet monitoring project with up to 20,000 vessels, and the wider South American market."

The Marine sector is one of the most crucial industries in the world as 98% of the goods we use are at some point shipped between different countries.

More importantly, the radical development in marine technology has not only help safeguard the industry but has made it more efficient and easier to track.

The units, which will be shipped in June, will be used to monitor vessels operating in the Galapagos maritime territory in a bid to preserve the environment.

Due to the sensitive and unique ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands, which are located 650 miles from the coast of Ecuador and a province of the South American country, vessels are only permitted to operate in certain areas at specific times.

In 2012, Ecuadorian authorities determined that all boats operating in the vicinity of the islands should be tracked and monitored by them to ensure compliance with operating regulations.

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