Woods Hole Group, Inc. and Riverside Mfg. have entered into an agreement in which Woods Hole Group will purchase the entire fleet of Faria Watchdog Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) dedicated to fisheries products, technologies and services. Woods Hole Group, headquartered in Bourne, Massachusetts, is a subsidiary of CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites) based in France, and is a supplier in good standing with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) within NOAA.
Faria Watchdog VMS systems have supported NMFS in the United States and international fisheries programs for more than a decade, and the fisheries fleet of Faria subscribers has grown to approximately 1,000 vessels, the companies stated in a press release. Riverside will transition active VMS subscriptions, technologies and specific assets to Woods Hole Group “over the next several months with no interruption to service for customers.”
“We are pleased to come to terms with Fred Merritt and his professional team at Riverside to expand our thriving sustainable fisheries business,” says Bob Hamilton, Woods Hole Group CEO. “We look forward to transitioning Riverside’s fisheries client base and technologies to Woods Hole Group, providing quality customer service and access to our industry-leading fisheries intelligence solutions.”
Fred Merritt, CEO of Riverside, says: “We believe that this transaction will serve our current customers very well over the coming years due to the focus and future development efforts of Woods Hole Group to serve the global fisheries marketplace. Furthermore, this will allow Riverside to concentrate on our non-fisheries telematics business with a focus on remote digital switching and engine data monitoring.”
A subsidiary of the French Space Agency CNES, CLS employs 900 people at its headquarters in Toulouse, France, and in 34 other locations around the world. The organization, which lists “sustainable fisheries management” as one of its five strategic sectors, acquired Woods Hole Group in 2017. In 2018, CLS officially merged its U.S.-based entities: CLS America, Horizon Marine and Woods Hole Group; the merged entity is Woods Hole Group, A CLS Company.
