DUTCH FISH BOARD – Netherlands – European fishing regulations
Since this year, the Dutch Fish Board uses CodeMeter for the secure transfer of information on fishing activities with the electronic logbook (eLogbook). The Dutch Fish Board represents all groups in the fishery industry, ranging from shipowner and fishermen, auctioneers, traders, and processors to the unions.
The EC Regulation 1077/2008 on electronic recording and reporting of fishing activities, requires all masters of fishing vessels to keep a logbook. This electronic logbook is used to record and securely transmit the details of fishing operations. In the Dutch solution, the master of the fishing vessel manages the information and transmits it to the VISHUB. The VISHUB is a software application managed by the Dutch Fish Board. The VISHUB passes on the specific data, for example, to private parties, such as auctioneers and producer organizations, but also to the public authorities, i.e. Customs and the General Inspection Service for Fisheries.
Requirements and Solution
CodeMeter had to meet several requirements:
- The Dutch government demanded securing authentic data by single ships and complying with high authentication and security standards.
- Flexible in use, since fishermen often change vessels.
- Robust hardware, suitable for the sea environment.
The Realization
The implementation using CodeMeter accomplishes secure communication independent from the used communication channel (satelite, IP traffic, etc.). At the same time, asymmetric encrypting information by private and public keys and using signatures ensures sender authentication. Altogether, 500 CodeMeter Sticks/M with 2 Gbyte Flash are employed. The solution runs on Linux.
Why Wibu-Systems?
“We settled for CodeMeter because Wibu-Systems has a proven track record of savvy solutions.“ stresses Henk Demkes, Project Manager, Electronic Logbook, Dutch Fishery, and continues: “Also the independency from communication channels, platforms, and APIs convinced us.“
Outlook
With the use of CodeMeter protected eLogbook as key element in VISHUB and the back office integration into private and public parties, the Dutch Fish Board expects a reduction in administrative costs by 4.1 Mio Euro. Also the idea is explored to export the model to other European countries.
