Sarah Bladen

Sarah leads our public relations, communications and outreach, working with the team to promote our data, science and transparency program and advance our engagement and impact with partners. Sarah has worked for close to 20 years in the not-for-profit sector, most recently leading global communications and marketing for the Marine Stewardship Council. Previously, Sarah held various roles with WWF, the global conservation organization; running anti-poaching campaigns in South-east Asia and driving global conservation and policy communications from the secretariat in Switzerland. A journalist by trade, Sarah believes in the power of impactful story-telling to inspire change. Sarah is passionate about marine life, and when not glued to her keyboard she can be found practising her kayaking skills along the Welsh coast or hankering for the warmer waters of her home country, Australia.

Flying Squid Japanese catch

Media kit: Illuminating Dark Fishing Fleets in North Korea

News & Views, Press Release / By

On 22 July 2020, the journal, Science Advances published our ground-breaking study, Illuminating Dark Fishing Fleets in North Korea, revealing the largest known case of illegal fishing perpetrated by vessels originating from one country operating in another nation’s waters.  Communications materials Press release: Report Exposes Rampant Illegal Fishing in North Korean Waters Paper: Illuminating Dark […]

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Detecting the dark fleet using satellite technology

Report Exposes Rampant Illegal Fishing in North Korean Waters

News & Views, Press Release / By

Ground-breaking study reveals hundreds of vessels fishing illegally in one of the world’s most contested ocean regions, contravening United Nations sanctions and fuelling overfishing Washington, D.C. – A new study published today in the journal, Science Advances reveals widespread illegal fishing by dark fleets — vessels that do not publicly broadcast their location or appear

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Chinese lighting vessels

International Cooperation Uncovers Large-Scale Illegal Fishing, Highlights Need for More Multinational Efforts

Data and technology, Fisheries, Impacts, News & Views, Research and analysis / By

Experts from four countries joined forces to find out the real cause behind drastic decline in squid catch   A Global Fishing Watch-led study uncovers what is possibly the largest ever documented case of illegal fishing by vessels originating from one country operating in another nation’s waters, leading to significant ramifications. The story behind the research

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Illegal fishing by dark fleets in north korea

New Technology Unveils Massive Illegal Fishing by Dark Fleets in North Korea, What Next?

Data and technology, Fisheries, Impacts, News & Views, Research and analysis / By

International collaboration and new technology shows unprecedented picture of fishing activity in North Korea, calls on nations to take action In the 30th issue of Science Advances Global Fishing Watch, along with 13 other co-authors, published a study revealing widespread illegal fishing in North Korean waters across 2017 and 2018. Hundreds of large, industrial vessels

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Iranian gillnet fishing vessel in Berbera harbour in 2015

Illegal Fishing Hotspot Identified in Northwest Indian Ocean

Impacts, News & Views, Policy & Compliance, Research and analysis / By

Nearly 200 Iranian vessels detected in Somali and Yemeni waters represent one of the world’s largest illegal fishing operations. Global Fishing Watch (GFW) and Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) have been working with partners in the Northwest Indian Ocean region, including the Somali government, to identify large-scale illegal fishing that is occurring inside the waters of

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aerial vessel

Illuminating global fishing activity with satellite AIS

Data and technology, Impacts, News & Views, Research and analysis / By

This article was produced and first published by our data partner, Spire Global. Transparency in a whole new light In February this year, a Vietnamese ship entered Indonesian waters, likely fished illegally, and then returned to port without consequence. By March, it was back at sea. There were no signs to indicate that the vessel

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earth ocean

New Partnership Aims to Build a Better Understanding of the Ocean

Data and technology, News & Views / By

Paul Woods, chief innovation officer with Global Fishing Watch and Mogens L. Mathiesen, SVP, head of strategy and partnerships with the Ocean Data Foundation share their ambition on Earth Day (April 22) for a new partnership to harness the current explosion in new data and technology for better management of the ocean.     In

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saltelite

Detecting Dark Fishing Activity in the North Natuna Sea

Data and technology, Fisheries, News & Views, Policy & Compliance / By

On March 1st 2020, Indonesian authorities seized five Vietnamese vessels fishing illegally in the North Natuna Sea, located south west of Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, which borders the South China Sea. The successful operation was conducted by patrol vessels from the Indonesian Directorate General (DG) of Surveillance (PSDKP) of The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries

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Challenges an opportunities - Global Atlas of AIS - based fishing activity

New global atlas on using advanced technology to monitor fishing activity

News & Views, Press Release / By

Fishing vessels with Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) increasing by 10 to 30 percent each year. 19 November 2019, Rome – A new global atlas – the first-ever of its kind – analyses the opportunities and challenges of using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to monitor fishing activity around the globe. AIS is a tracking technology designed

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Xing Hua Sheng NO669

On the frontline against illegal fishing in the world’s biggest ocean

Fisheries, Impacts, News & Views / By

Global Fishing Watch data assists US Coast Guard patrol in the Pacific. The 2019 patrol produced a threefold increase in vessel boardings and an eightfold increase in identified violations compared to 2018. Captain Adam Morrison has 12 years of experience patrolling the oceans of the world with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) during his 24

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global fishing map

Data on global fishing activity and ocean ecosystems now available on Bloomberg Terminal

News & Views, Press Release / By

 Access to Global Fishing Watch’s data, alongside geospatial tools available on the Terminal, will increase monitoring and protection of ocean ecosystems and communities at risk from overfishing and climate change Oslo, Norway. October 24, 2019. Today at Our Ocean 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies Chief Executive Officer Patricia E. Harris announced a new initiative between Bloomberg LP and

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Panama VMS

Panama publishes vessel tracking data through Global Fishing Watch

News & Views, Press Release / By

Oslo, Norway. October 23, 2019. In front of world leaders gathered in Oslo, Norway for the sixth-annual Our Ocean conference, Panama announced the public release of its vessel tracking data via Global Fishing Watch (GFW). Panama’s distant water fishing fleet is now visible in GFW’s public map in near real time, for free. Panama reinforced

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Vessel track

Are unauthorized foreign vessels deterred from fishing inside Exclusive Economic Zones?

Fisheries, Impacts, News & Views, Policy & Compliance / By

Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) are perhaps the largest property rights institution in the world, covering about 39% of the ocean’s surface and accounting for more than 95% of global marine fish catch. Because assigning property rights can improve both ecological and economic outcomes, EEZs could be an important institution for improving the sustainability and profitability

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Interception of MV NIKA

Sharp decline in foreign fishing boats in Indonesian waters – Global Fishing Watch analysis

Press Release / By

Jakarta, Indonesia – The presence of foreign fishing vessels in Indonesian waters has declined significantly since a ban was enacted in November 2014 by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, according to new analysis by Global Fishing Watch (GFW).  By analysing data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) (1), an open source vessel tracking

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