The vessel monitoring system (VMS) is a satellite-based monitoring system which at regular intervals provides data to the fisheries authorities on the location, course and speed of vessels. It was introduced in Morocco in 2011 to try to end Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and to meet the requirements of the European Union to set up systems of border control to forbid the access to the markets, of products coming from an illegal fishing and to protect the halieutic resources and the marine ecosystem.
This article aims to evaluate the implementation of VMS Project in Morocco. To achieve this goal, we conducted a qualitative survey around different actors : Shipowners, high executives of the Moroccan Ministry of Maritime Fisheries and the Manager of SOREMAR Company (company that provides installation and maintenance of VMS equipment in Morocco).