Support system design for remote area surveillance and protection requirements

The Australian mainland has 35,876 km of coastline, and an additional 23,859 km of island coastline. The persistence of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has been identified as a major factor contributing to the overexploitation of marine resources worldwide. Unfortunately, this vast area requires a great deal of resources and costs hundreds of million dollars to protect. Due to decisions at different times, the patrol boat bases are located at the east side of Australia while most illegal activities are at the north west, which is located a vast distance from where the asset is. Instead of piecemeal development in the past, the current situation has called for a model-based design methodology for the support system design. This paper reviews methodologies commonly used in service systems design and outlines a system model that captures elements of the support system and improves the processes of developing a viable solution to the problem.