Rachael Orben is an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. In September of 2016, Leigh Torres, associate professor at Oregon State University, and I attended the 6th International Albatross and Petrel Conference. Somehow, amid all of the science that filled the week, Leigh first saw the Global Fishing [...]
Global Fishing Watch’s updated fishing data offers new insight into the presence and behavior of the global fishing fleet In 2018, we published the first-ever global assessment of commercial fishing activity in Science. We tracked over 60,000 fishing vessels between 2012 and 2016, and estimated that fishing occurred on more than half of the [...]
Improvements to our fishing effort data and vessel classification can help promote transparency of human activity on the world’s oceans In 2018, Global Fishing Watch released its first public fishing effort data that included almost 142 million hours of fishing from over 73,000 unique maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) numbers. The dataset, spanning 2012-2016, [...]
One year into the pandemic that triggered turmoil around the world, an analysis of Global Fishing Watch data sheds light on shifts in global fishing activity As the world marks the March 11th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishing sector—like many industries—continues to feel the effects. With [...]
Countries embrace transparency-based strategy to promote fair and effective ocean governance The 34th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Committee on Fisheries (COFI 34) was held virtually last week. Front and center of the agenda was the need to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a practice which [...]
Oceana calls on U.S. government to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the US seafood supply chain The largest ocean-focused advocacy group, Oceana, released results from a new poll revealing that 83 percent of Americans agree that all seafood should be traceable from the fishing boat to the dinner plate, and 77 percent [...]
On February 29, 2016, Argentinian authorities approached the HUA LI 8, a squid jigger flagged to China that had been observed fishing illegally within Argentina’s waters.
New collaboration between Global Fishing Watch and Human Rights at Sea aims to ensure policy and satellite technology solutions are aligned and information is available to all stakeholders The International Labour Organization of the United Nations estimates that 16 million people were in forced labor in the private economy in 2016, with 11 percent [...]
Costa Rica and Ecuador will join the Global Fishing Watch platform, furthering accountability of fishing activity in the region Ecuador harbor scene in sunset light Puerto Morro, Ecuador. A new era of transparency in fisheries management is emerging in Latin America. Since 2018, Peru, Chile, and Panama and more recently, Costa Rica [...]
Momentum gains as more countries take action to promote fisheries transparency Guayaquil, Ecuador – Ecuador has taken bold action to bolster ocean governance by joining the Global Fishing Watch platform, facilitating enhanced monitoring of the 1,200 vessels that make up Ecuador’s industrial and small-scale fishing fleets. This momentous decision will help increase accountability for [...]
A new collaboration aims to make management at sea more cost-effective using cutting-edge technology Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing affects the sustainability of fisheries worldwide. In Mexico, illegal fishing accounts for up to an estimated 56 percent of national seafood production, according to estimates by the Environmental Defense Fund. Such a significant level [...]
Pacific case study suggests greater transparency will improve legitimacy and sustainability of tuna fisheries Transshipment, the transfer of catch from fishing vessels to refrigerated cargo vessels (often called ‘reefers’ or ‘carriers’) is an important part of many seafood supply chains. But when transshipment occurs at sea, loopholes in governance and gaps in monitoring can [...]
Transparency of vessel information will protect fisheries observers and help create a culture of compliance Papua New Guinea: A scoop is used to haul tons of tuna onto the deck of the purse seine fishing boat 'Purple Lilac 888', owned by Frabelle Fishing Corporation of the Philippines, 09 November 2011.Credit: Jamie Ling, 2011 [...]
New agreement will combine data and analysis from Global Fishing Watch and Vulcan Inc. to bolster fisheries transparency and enforcement Washington D.C. - Global Fishing Watch (GFW), an international nonprofit organization, has entered into a formal collaboration with Vulcan Inc., combining their vessel monitoring capabilities to enhance fisheries management and governmental efforts to combat illegal, [...]
Tracking refrigerated cargo ships, commonly called reefers, can help address illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea Transshipment, or the transfer of fish from one vessel to another, is a vital part of the global commercial fishing industry. It touches a wide variety of seafood products, from bigeye and skipjack tuna all the way [...]
