What is Global Fishing Watch’s VMS transparency initiative?
Transparency is crucial for good stewardship of our global ocean – to fight illegal fishing, to protect fish stocks and...
Why is transparency important?
The FAO estimates that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing accounts for 11–26 million tonnes of fish each year, worth...
Why should governments publish their VMS or other data on our platform?
Publication of VMS data contributes to ocean management on the global scale as it adds to a more comprehensive understanding...
Does full and public transparency compromise fisheries’ commercial interests and privacy?
Global Fishing Watch displays vessel locations from AIS data with a 72 hour lag. VMS data is redacted slightly, aggregated...
How transparent should fishing be?
Global Fishing Watch believes that fishing should be fully transparent. Transparency does not have to be instantaneous. A delay to...