Matt Gummery

Fishing effort (in hours) shown in dynamic reports is generated through a two-step process that balances speed and precision. Understanding these steps can help interpret slight differences in reported totals. Phase 1: Initial Grid-Based Estimate (Upon Report Load) When a dynamic report first loads, estimated fishing effort is calculated using heatmap data rendered as square

In mid December 2024, we began resolving an identified error with apparent fishing estimation in the Global Fishing Watch platform and APIs. We have fully resolved this issue and the data lag is back to the expected three-day delay. According to an impact assessment, the fishing effort estimate from 2024-10-01 to 2024-12-31 has increased by

In October 2024, Global Fishing Watch released two important improvements to port visit data to resolve errors. 1. Port visit data error We identified an error affecting a small percentage of confidence 4 level port visits shown on vessel tracks in our APIs and Global Fishing Watch and TMT Vessel Viewer. Some false confidence 4

Yes, this is expected. Global Fishing Watch are actively working to improve data reproducibility. Because we ingest new satellite data daily, we constantly update our information. This means that what we previously identified as the end of a voyage or a vessel slowing down could now be part of a continuous voyage or a fishing

As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and innovation, we update our full AIS pipeline version available in the Global Fishing Watch platform and public APIs. These updates are crucial for maintaining the health and sustainability of Global Fishing Watch datasets and products. Versioning updates are often necessary to keep up with the growing

As of January 28, 2025, the latest AIS data version is v3 (details about v3 are available here). The previous version, v20231026, has been deprecated. While originally scheduled for deprecation in February 2025, this was accelerated due to low usage and high maintenance costs. Please note that comparing data outputs between v20231026 and v3 is

Global Fishing Watch believes in the power of sharing meaningful data publicly and freely. Because anyone around the world may be using and sharing Global Fishing Watch data on vessel identity, location, estimated events, and associated registry records publicly, we must ensure this public output is of the highest confidence and also the most conservative

Over the past five years, Global Fishing Watch has expanded significantly from a small start-up to a much larger organization. With this growth, we now have the capacity to develop more consistent data governance structures, improve data communication, and ensure continual and thorough data quality assurance. Continuing forward, we will update our data versions approximately

From January 26 to April 10, 2024, we have had an error in Global Fishing Watch data. This error has impacted both automatic identification system (AIS) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) data in the Global Fishing Watch platform, as well as data pulled from the data download portal and APIs. We have now fully resolved

Global Fishing Watch has established a new partnership with Spire Global, providing even more precise and consistent AIS activity data through the use of ExactView satellites. As of January 1, 2023, Global Fishing Watch data is generated using both Spire and Spire Global satellites and will no longer use OrbComm data. Users should be aware

Not necessarily. The resolution of each grid cell changes with the zoom level, you can see the resolution in the legend of each apparent fishing effort layer (for example in the screenshot, 120 km2 is the approximate grid cell area at equator). Each grid cell adds fishing effort for the area of the cell, so