In 2016, 33 countries agreed to establish a global network of scientifically supported Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that will increase the amount of ocean area protected from the current 2 percent to 10 percent by the year 2020. MPAs either restrict human activity such as fishing, or they prohibit it all together. But the question […]
A New View of Marine Protected Areas Read More »
Sam Weber worked previously for the Ascension Island Government and is currently at the University of Exeter helping to establish the largest Marine Protected Area in the Atlantic around Ascension Island.
Understanding Fishing Activity Around Ascension Island Read More »
Momentum builds as a second nation in the Pacific makes critical decision to make fishing activity data accessible and transparent In a newly established partnership with Global Fishing Watch, Papua New Guinea has committed to sharing vessel tracking data from its Fishing Industry Association on the organization’s public map. Through this agreement, the Pacific island
Global Fishing Watch data helps researchers link shipping traffic to whale shark fatalities The whale shark is the world’s largest fish, with adults weighing up to 5,000 pounds and reaching up to 20 meters in length. Earning the reputation of “gentle giant,” these massive creatures roam the tropical waters of the ocean, traveling long distances
Satellite Technology Can Reveal Collision Risks for Whale Sharks Read More »
Global Fishing Watch believes in the power of sharing meaningful data publicly and freely. Because anyone around the world may be using and sharing Global Fishing Watch data on vessel identity, location, estimated events, and associated registry records publicly, we must ensure this public output is of the highest confidence and also the most conservative
An encounter is anywhere that a refrigerated cargo vessel meets up with a fishing vessel while at sea. Encounters may indicate potential transshipment activity between two vessels that both appear in the automatic identification system (AIS) data source Our algorithm estimates an encounter event when two vessels were within 500 meters for at least two
What is a vessel encounter? Read More »
Loitering is when a single vessel exhibits behavior indicative of a potential encounter event. Loitering is estimated using automatic identification system (AIS) data, including vessel speed, duration in a given location, and distance from shore. Loitering occurs when a vessel travels at average speed of < two knots, while at least an average of 20
What is a loitering event? Read More »
Darcy Bradley is a postdoctoral researcher at University of California – Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Her recent publication in Conservation Letters, Leveraging satellite technology to create true shark sanctuaries, examined how advancements in tracking technology can help us better understand illegal fishing activity and therefore improve fisheries management. What do you
How can vessel tracking technology help to create true shark sanctuaries? Read More »
Our commitment to open data and transparency is paying off. Input from Global Fishing Watch users and the public, is helping us refine and improve our analyses. Today, we’re publishing an update to our groundbreaking transshipment report. Download the report now. Last February we published The Global View of Transshipment: Preliminary Findings, an original report that maps
Transshipment Report Refined Read More »
Oceana calls on U.S. government to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the US seafood supply chain The largest ocean-focused advocacy group, Oceana, released results from a new poll revealing that 83 percent of Americans agree that all seafood should be traceable from the fishing boat to the dinner plate, and 77 percent support
New poll reveals demand for seafood traceability and public vessel tracking Read More »
