AI Can Help Save the Ocean — If We Let It

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been generating a lot of bad press these days — blamed for spreading disinformation, killing jobs and edging us toward a dystopian future. Some of that is true. But it’s not the whole story. While AI does carry real risks that demand oversight, the same technology holds extraordinary promise to confront some of the defining challenges of our time: climate change, environmental decline and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  

Nowhere is this potential more evident than in the ocean — Earth’s most vital and most overlooked ecosystem. Covering more than 70 percent of the planet, the ocean helps regulate our climate, provides food for billions and sustains livelihoods across continents. Yet, much of what happens across its vast expanse remains invisible. That opacity has allowed illegal fishing, habitat destruction and unsustainable exploitation to thrive. 

AI changes the equation. An explosion of machine learning technology and a surge in the availability of satellite data now make it possible to see and map the ocean like never before. These advances allow us to efficiently translate a multitude of data points into understandable information at previously unimaginable speed, and to detect patterns previously unseen by the human eye. We can now make the invisible visible — and help rewrite the story of ocean governance in the process. 

At Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit using cutting-edge technology to bring transparency to human activity across the ocean, we are harnessing AI to achieve our mission. And thanks to a new partnership with Planet, we now have global satellite coverage of millions of square miles of coastal waters, generating trillions of data points. Our tools expose potential illegal activity, shape smarter policies and empower the communities that depend on healthy fisheries. For us, AI, when used responsibly, is not a threat to our collective future but a force to help safeguard it.

Take what happens when a fishing boat enters port. In the past, authorities had to rely on the claims of the vessel operator to understand its activities. Today, AI can scan millions of square miles of satellite data and learn from hundreds of thousands of examples to flag suspicious behavior in near real-time, giving port inspectors the information they need to challenge those claims. For its part, Global Fishing Watch now tracks over 100,000 fishing vessels — about one-third of the world’s industrial fishing fleet — and can distinguish between ships that are transiting, carrying cargo or actively fishing. This allows governments to monitor their waters more effectively, identify high-risk boats and crack down on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. And because AI makes it possible to track all these boats at very low marginal cost, we can give this data to governments for free. Now with AI, we can ensure that there is always someone watching when industrial operators extract resources from the public commons.

But AI isn’t only helping us protect marine life such as fish, turtles and dolphins; it’s also helping us protect people. Our models can help identify vessels likely engaged in forced labor, based on their movements and operating patterns. That gives inspectors a crucial edge in an industry where random checks often fail. Instead of wasting resources boarding low-risk ships, coast guards and port officials can focus on those most likely to be exploiting workers. With the right policies, governments can then use these insights to strengthen protections for crews at sea and hold abusers accountable. And by combining AI-driven monitoring with international agreements, inspectors can stop illegal fish before it reaches global markets, while also preventing abuse from being hidden offshore.

The implications of AI for good for advancing our climate agenda are equally profound. Indeed, Global Fishing Watch’s AI models now enable us to predict with great accuracy the CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, including those released by industrial vessels that are not publicly trackable, contributing to campaigns to reduce and eliminate those emissions.  Our AI tools are also helping to accelerate offshore wind development by streamlining planning, reducing conflict with competing fisheries uses and supporting fact-based planning processes. And by 2030, we aim to create a global system that reveals all human activity at sea, offering a true picture of everything that’s happening across our blue planet to anyone with an internet connection for free. This transformational technology will empower millions of people who manage and depend on the ocean to monitor what’s going on – and take action to secure a better future for the ocean we all share. 

These advances show how AI can be a force for good in driving transparency. But transparency only matters if it fuels accountability, and accountability requires political will. The tools are ready but only useful when powered by comprehensive and accurate data – and, currently, the data exist in the hands of the few. What we need now are governments willing to act — to mandate public vessel tracking and identity information, to integrate AI into enforcement regimes, to make transparency the default rather than the exception and to ensure that the benefits of this technology serve the public good rather than private gain.

This Climate Week in New York is a chance to reset the narrative. The ocean, vast and fragile, is both a casualty of climate change and a critical ally in combating it. AI can help safeguard its resilience, secure food supplies and preserve biodiversity for generations to come. But the window of opportunity is narrowing. Fail to act, and the costs to food security, climate stability and human survival will be staggering. Seize it, and AI could help deliver a future where humanity and nature thrive together.

The choice is ours.