4Wings API

4Wings introduction

4Wings API (aka Map Visualization) allows you to get fast visualization, navigation and analysis for gridded spatiotemporal datasets. The API provides access to three core datasets that enable comprehensive maritime activity analysis:

• AIS Apparent Fishing Effort - Visualize apparent fishing activity based on AIS data
• SAR Vessel Detections - Access Synthetic-aperture radar vessel detections
• AIS Vessel Presence - Visualize any vessel type presence. Important: This is not a vessel track.

What You Can Do

With the 4Wings API, you can:

• Visualize maritime data in PNG or MVT format for interactive maps
• Generate comprehensive reports and download in CSV, JSON or TIFF format
• Apply intelligent filtering by time period, vessel characteristics, and geographic regions
• Create custom map styles with dynamic color ramps
• Analyze vessel interactions at the cell level for detailed insights
• Access statistical summaries for broad trend analysis

Choosing Your Dataset

Each dataset serves different analytical needs:

Supported Datasets

Dataset Comparison Overview

To understand the differences between our API products, view this PDF. For detailed API dataset specifications, visit this page.

AIS Apparent Fishing Effort

Dataset ID: public-global-fishing-effort:latest

• Derived from AIS vessel tracking data using Global Fishing Watch's machine learning algorithms to identify apparent fishing activity. This dataset focuses specifically on fishing vessel behavior patterns. Learn more about this dataset here.

Available Filters These are the available filters that you can send in the query param filters[0]

• flag – Vessel flag state → View flag definitions Example: flag in ('ESP', 'USA')

• geartype – Fishing gear type → View supported gear types Example: geartype in ('tuna_purse_seines', 'driftnets')

• vessel_id – Specific vessel identifier

• distance_from_port_km – Minimum distance from ports and anchorages. ENUM values: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (kilometers). Applies only to fishing effort dataset. Note: The Global Fishing Watch Map interface uses 3km as default to reduce overestimation near ports. See usage examples in our Postman collection.

SAR Vessel Detections

Dataset ID: public-global-sar-presence:latest

Industrial vessels that were detected with satellite imagery and classified with deep learning. Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a spaceborne radar imaging system that can detect at-sea vessels and structures in any weather conditions. Microwave pulses are transmitted by a satellite-based antenna towards the Earth surface. The microwave energy scattered back to the spacecraft is then measured and integrated to form a “backscatter” image. The SAR image contains rich information about the different objects on the water, such as their size, orientation and texture. SAR imaging systems overcome most weather conditions and illumination levels, including clouds or rain due to the cloud penetrating property of microwaves, and daylight or darkness due to radar being an “active” sensor (it shoots and records back its own energy). Please check the data caveats here.

Available Filters

• matched – Whether detection matched with AIS data
  Example: matched='true' or matched='false'

• flag – Vessel flag state (when matched with AIS) → View flag definitions
  Example: flag in ('ESP', 'USA')

• vessel_id – Vessel identifier (when matched with AIS) → Vessel ID guide

• geartype – Fishing gear type (when matched with AIS) → View supported gear types
  Example: geartype in ('tuna_purse_seines', 'driftnets')

• neural_vessel_type – AI classification based on neural network model
  Values:
      <= 0.1: "Likely non-fishing"
      >= 0.9: "Likely fishing"
      0.1 - 0.9: "Other/Unknown"

• shiptype – Vessel type classification (when matched with AIS) → Vessel type calculations

AIS Vessel Presence

Dataset ID: public-global-presence:latest

Global vessel presence derived from AIS data. The presence is determined by taking one position per hour per vessel from the positions transmitted by the vessel's AIS. Unlike the apparent fishing effort dataset, this includes all vessel types and focuses on presence rather than fishing classification.

Available Filters

• flag – Vessel flag state → Flag definitions
  Example: flag in ('ESP', 'USA')

• vessel_type – Type of vessel → Supported vessel types
  Example: vessel_type = 'cargo'

• speed – Vessel speed ranges (in knots)
  Supported categories:
      <2 – Less than 2 knots
      2-4 – 2 to 4 knots
      4-6 – 4 to 6 knots
      6-10 – 6 to 10 knots
      10-15 – 10 to 15 knots
      15-25 – 15 to 25 knots
      >25 – Greater than 25 knots

Available 4Wings API Endpoints

1. Create a report of a specified region - Generate comprehensive reports in CSV, JSON, or TIFF format
2. Get the last report generated - Retrieve previously generated reports without regenerating
3. Create a style for PNG tiles - Define visual appearance and styling for map tiles
4. Get raster by tile coordinates - Retrieve specific map tiles in PNG or MVT format
5. Generate data bins - Create color ramps and data distribution analysis
6. Interaction API - Get detailed information from specific tile cells
7. Statistics on fishing activity - Access worldwide fishing effort statistics