Federal regulations · Through 2026-08-25 · Newer source version available

50 CFR 600.1503: Position report data formats and transmission.

Unless otherwise specified, this subsection applies to all VMS units, MCSs and bundles. Units that can operate as both an EMTU and EMTU-C must meet the requirements for both an EMTU and an EMTU-C in order to gain type-approval as both. To be type-approved in any given fishery, a VMS unit must also meet any additional positioning information as required by the applicable VMS regulations and requirements in effect for each fishery or region for which the type-approval applies. The VMS unit must meet the following requirements:
(a) Transmit all automatically-generated position reports, for vessels managed individually or grouped by fleet, that meet the latency requirement under § 600.1504.
(b) When powered up, must automatically re-establish its position reporting function without manual intervention.
(c) Position reports must contain all of the following:
(1) Unique identification of an EMTU/EMTU-C and clear indication if the unit is an EMTU-C.
(2) Date (year/month/day with century in the year) and time stamp (GMT) of the position fix.
(3) Date (year/month/day with century in the year) and time stamp (GMT) that the EMTU-C position report was sent from the EMTU-C.
(4) Position fixed latitude and longitude, including the hemisphere of each, which comply with the following requirements:
(i) The position fix precision must be to the decimal minute hundredths.
(ii) Accuracy of the reported position must be within 100 meters (328.1 ft).
(d) An EMTU/EMTU-C must have the ability to: (1) Store 1,000 position fixes in local, non-volatile memory.
(2) Allow for defining variable reporting intervals between 5 minutes and 24 hours.
(3) Allow for changes in reporting intervals remotely and only by authorized users.
(e) An EMTU/EMTU-C must generate specially identified position reports upon:
(1) Antenna disconnection.
(2) Loss of positioning reference signals.
(3) Security events, power-up, power down, and other status data.
(4) A request for EMTU/EMTU-C status information such as configuration of programming and reporting intervals.
(5) The EMTUs loss of the mobile communications signals.
(6) An EMTU must generate a specially identified position report upon the vessel crossing of a pre-defined geographic boundary.

Where this section sits in the code

Title 50—Wildlife and Fisheries
CHAPTER VI—FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
PART 600—MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS
Subpart Q—Vessel Monitoring System Type-Approval

(a) Transmit all automatically-generated position reports, for vessels managed individually or grouped by fleet, that meet the latency requirement under § 600.1504.

(b) When powered up, must automatically re-establish its position reporting function without manual intervention.

(1) Unique identification of an EMTU/EMTU-C and clear indication if the unit is an EMTU-C.

(2) Date (year/month/day with century in the year) and time stamp (GMT) of the position fix.

(3) Date (year/month/day with century in the year) and time stamp (GMT) that the EMTU-C position report was sent from the EMTU-C.

(4) Position fixed latitude and longitude, including the hemisphere of each, which comply with the following requirements:

(i) The position fix precision must be to the decimal minute hundredths.

(ii) Accuracy of the reported position must be within 100 meters (328.1 ft).

(d) An EMTU/EMTU-C must have the ability to: (1) Store 1,000 position fixes in local, non-volatile memory.

(2) Allow for defining variable reporting intervals between 5 minutes and 24 hours.

(3) Allow for changes in reporting intervals remotely and only by authorized users.

(e) An EMTU/EMTU-C must generate specially identified position reports upon:

(1) Antenna disconnection.

(2) Loss of positioning reference signals.

(3) Security events, power-up, power down, and other status data.

(4) A request for EMTU/EMTU-C status information such as configuration of programming and reporting intervals.

(5) The EMTUs loss of the mobile communications signals.

(6) An EMTU must generate a specially identified position report upon the vessel crossing of a pre-defined geographic boundary.

Collected 2026-08-27T02:26:39Z. Source file · JSON

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