The Fisheries Monitoring Centre is a specialised unit within the Irish Naval Service responsible for sea fisheries protection and surveillance of all fishing vessels equipped with a Vessel Monitoring System.

Its introduction was in response to an effort to create a more automated and accurate system for the monitoring of fisheries data.

Such data included sightings, boardings, warnings and detention of vessels.

The creation of the NSC was therefore created as a single point for the processing of all fisheries activity in the Irish EEZ.

In 1998 a Europe-wide scheme for the installation of transponder boxes in fishing vessels was initiated and with it an effort to modernise fisheries protection in Ireland.