Frequently Asked Questions
Global Fishing Watch offers an interactive online platform that displays fishing activity and other vessel data and tools to help you monitor global fishing patterns. Whether you’re looking for general facts about our organization or specialized information about how to use our platform, we can help you – start by searching below.
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- Does Global Fishing Watch track illegal activity? Has Global Fishing Watch ever identified illegal fishing activity?
- Can citizen watchdogs use GFW to monitor fishing activity?
- What is Global Fishing Watch?
- What distinguishes Global Fishing Watch from similar organizations?
- What is the relationship between Oceana, SkyTruth, Google and Global Fishing Watch?
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- What is the significance of the EEZs?
- How do I view fishing activity in/around MPAs, EEZs, or High Seas Pockets?
- Why am I not seeing certain Marine Protected Areas on Global Fishing Watch?
- Why is there fishing in an area marked as an MPA?
- Why are there large circles in which there is no apparent fishing?
Video Tutorials
Our video tutorials are designed to help you navigate our interactive online platform and monitor global fishing activity. Don’t find what you need in the videos? Try searching our FAQs or reading our downloadable how-to guides.
How to use the carrier vessel portal track inspector
Introduction to the carrier vessel portal
Introduction to the Global Fishing Watch map
How to select date ranges
How to search for vessels and create a fleet
Understanding AIS and VMS activity layers
Night Light Vessel Detections and Encounters
How to download activity reports
How to upload a custom layer
How to create a filter
How-to guides
Our how-to guides walk step-by-step through our interactive online platform to help you learn how to use our tools to achieve your goals. Make sure to also check out our video tutorials!
Training materials for journalists on how to use the Global Fishing Watch interactive map platform are also available through the Google News Initiative.