New data reveals suspected vessel rendezvous at sea and sheds light on the ‘dark’ fleet To mark World Oceans Day, Global Fishing Watch (GFW) has increased ocean transparency by releasing the first-ever ‘live’ global view of likely transshipping at sea — a practice that can mask illegal fishing activity, and imagery of night-time fishing and its location, exposing […]
The ocean covers nearly 70 percent of the planet–14 million square kilometers–providing a huge challenge for monitoring activity and enforcing regulations across its vast expanse. That activity includes illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which accounts for up to $23 billion worth of seafood every year, or one in every five wild-caught fish.
Study reveals 75 percent of the world’s industrial fishing vessels are hidden from public view WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new study published today in the journal Nature offers an unprecedented view of previously unmapped industrial use of the ocean and how it is changing. The groundbreaking study, led by Global Fishing Watch, uses machine learning […]
Committee on fisheries advances transshipment monitoring, vessel identification and tracking to fight illegal fishing © Shutterstock International fisheries are managed through a patchwork of regulations, which present loopholes that are often exploited for financial gain, undermining collective good governance efforts. To help address this, every two years, the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food […]
Dr. Jennifer Raynor discusses the rapid evolution of AI-enabled vessel tracking technologies and how this technology can drive better decisions at sea.
From mapping the world’s small-scale fleet to deploying AI agents to monitor marine reserves, Global Fishing Watch’s research team is illuminating human activity across the ocean like never before.
2025 One Ocean Science Congress Research Poster: Tenfold increase in public vessel tracking supports science, management and policy Related expert: David Kroodsmahttps://youtu.be/FItXh5Don0s Download: 2025 One Ocean Science Congress research poster References Kroodsma, D. A. et al. Tracking the global footprint of fisheries. Science 359, 904–908 (2018). Park, J. et al. Tracking elusive and shifting identities […]
As Panama’s new government takes office, its strengthened commitment to ocean management is building a new wave of momentum Political cycles are almost always accompanied by uncertainty. New leaders, new initiatives and new priorities forge a landscape of unknowns, leaving many to wonder what a new normal will look like. Political turnover can also represent […]
Global Fishing Watch partners with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Decade of Ocean Science to bring digital innovation to fisheries monitoring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkyvl2dHZUI&ab_channel=GlobalFishingWatch Commercial fishing is vital to the food security, livelihoods and cultural identity of millions of people around the world. But the fish that sustain this industry freely swim […]
Vessel Tracking Related expert: Charles Kilgour We can’t manage what we can’t see. For decades, industrial fishing has operated in the shadows, remaining one of the most opaque and unmonitored sectors in global commerce. Global Fishing Watch’s mission is to shine a light on human activity at sea, bringing transparency to global fisheries and strengthening […]
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