Insights API

Introduction Vessels Insights API

The Insights API is a set of indicators or 'vessel insights' that bring together important information on a vessel's known activity (based on AIS), vessel identity information and public authorizations. The objective of the insights is to support risk-based decision-making, operational planning, and other due diligence activities by making it easier for a user to identify vessel characteristics that can indicate an increased potential or opportunity for a vessel to engage in IUU (Illegal, Unreported, or Unregulated) fishing. The vessel insights were originally developed in collaboration with TMT, the Ocean Risk & Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) and representatives from the insurance industry. The project aimed to strengthen an insurance underwriter's ability to assess the potential that a vessel they insure may engage in or support IUU fishing. The collaboration included a pilot whereby insurance underwriters were asked to provide feedback on Vessel Viewer and the utility of the insights. The insights were then expanded for testing by port inspectors, MCS officers, the seafood industry, and others, with feedback from all pilot groups informing improvements and future efforts.

These are the available insights:

• Any apparent fishing events in no-take MPAs

• Any apparent fishing events detected in areas with no known RFMO authorization

• The vessel’s AIS coverage metric

• Any AIS off events

• If the vessel is present on an RFMO IUU vessel list

• Longline Sets events

Longline Sets events categories

Longline Sets events grouped by nautical dawn and dusk summary with the different event categories like:

• entirely_day / entirely_night: Set event falls wholly between nautical dawn and dusk, or nautical dusk and dawn, respectively.
• mostly_day / mostly_night: Set event crosses nautical dawn or dusk but spends less than 2 hours in day or night. Day vs night is decided by where the largest fraction of the event is spent. E.g. a set that starts 4 hours before dusk and ends 1 hour after dusk is classified as mostly_day. A set that starts 90 minutes before dawn and ends 100 minutes after dawn is classified as mostly_day.
  • As the predicted start and end points from the model can be inaccurate, these categories can highlight cases where a set may be e.g. entirely_night, but due to the model predicting an early start is classified as mostly_night. The 2-hour buffer was selected to reflect the uncertainty of the model.
• day_and_night: Set event spends at least 2 hours in both day and night. E.g. a set that starts 3 hours before dusk and ends 3 hours after dusk.
• unclassified: This may be due to polar events, with set events >=24hr

Difference with the Map Global Fishing Watch map only display longline set events by three categories:

• (i) ‘entirely_day’
• (ii) ‘entirely night’
• (iii) ‘outside or overlapping with day and night’- this last category combines ‘mostly_day’, ‘mostly_night’ and ‘day_and_night’ categories accessible to API users.