Global AIS Vessel Presence Dataset
Access to AIS vessel presence data is now available through the 4Wings API.
Search results for: What is AIS
AIS and the Challenges of Tracking Vessels at Sea
At Global Fishing Watch, we hear it all the time: “Tracking commercial fishing vessels from satellites is such a great idea, and it seems so easy!” In fact, we’ve received a few questions from our readers asking us why this isn’t just a simple hack of publicly available data.
AIS Coverage – Data Coming Soon
Along with the recent release of our fishing effort data, we are also releasing information on how good AIS coverage is for different parts of the world. That is, in some parts of the ocean, an AIS signal sent by a vessel is very likely to be in our database, and in others, it is less likely […]
How do I view different types of fishing vessel data? (AIS, VMS, VIIRS, SAR)
To view different types of fishing vessel data, on the top of the left sidebar, we have the Activity section. The ‘apparent fishing activity’ includes AIS and VMS data. AIS data can be filtered by flag and gear type. VMS data can be filtered by source, flag and, in some cases, by gear type, fleet […]
What Does an AIS Message Look Like Anyway?
Automatic Identification System (AIS) messages are transmitted over radio waves. The system was designed, in part, so that vessels could “see” the positions of nearby ships on a monitor and avoid collisions. These radio signals are received by satellites and used for many monitoring purposes. Each boat can broadcast a distinct message as often as every two […]
Error in Underlying AIS and VMS Data
Errors in fishing effort and fishing event data have been fully resolved.
Tracking Vessels with AIS
The ocean is one of the world’s most important shared resources, yet for decades, activities at sea occurred out of sight, making it difficult to manage marine resources and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Missing AIS Encounters
We've detected an issue with how automatic identification system (AIS) encounter events are generated.
Inconsistency in AIS Filters Leads to Events Without Tracks
Events and vessel detections may show in our platform, but tracks are missing.
Example of AIS Data for One Vessel Nov 1, 2016
The sample vessel track below shows position broadcasts of the Jin Sheng No.2, a Chinese fishing vessel with mmsi number 413270430. Over three weeks in March of 2015, this vessel steamed from the central Pacific to the coast of Japan, Korea, and China. While moving, a vessel broadcasts its position via AIS every 2 to […]