Projects
Measuring Impacts of a Growing Fleet
Ocean-going vessel activity quantified at scale

By processing and analyzing data from automatic identification systems (AIS), we are able to reveal the global pattern of all sea-going vessels and begin to identify their impacts on ocean ecosystems.
An increasing challenge
Vessel traffic has quadrupled over the past two decades, driven largely by an increase in shipping. This rapid industrialization of the ocean has major effects on sea life. Collisions with cargo vessels are pushing some species of whales to the brink of extinction, and shipping lanes have increased the noise in the ocean by a factor of 30, creating deafening sounds for sea creatures. Just 13 percent of the ocean remains a wilderness and few places are untouched by human activity.
Vessel activity of all types is going to grow as the global economy expands, and we need tools to understand and manage its impact. Global Fishing Watch continues to map and monitor this activity while catalyzing research into its effects on marine life.
Data for better governance
Global Fishing Watch is taking the methods we have developed for identifying fishing vessel activity and applying them to all vessels broadcasting their positions via AIS. This work reveals the activity of vessels responsible for the majority of world trade, all major oil tankers, all cruise ships and countless others.
To help this data improve governance, we are partnering with researchers to address the many challenges posed by vessel traffic, such as identifying where whales are at risk of being struck by shipping traffic or better understanding the global impacts of the sand mining industry.
Our key technology draws on vessel registries and vessel behavior to identify and characterize these craft and build behavioral models that identify their activity. By applying these technologies to all vessels, we are able to better understand and manage human activity on the ocean.
Research Lead
Contributing Team
Recent Work
Emerging technology gives first ever global view of hidden vessels
Satellite radar and machine learning publicly reveal previously unseen vessel activity around the world Washington, D.C. – Global Fishing Watch has developed and publicly released the first ever global map of previously undetected dark fleets,
Satellite Technology Can Reveal Collision Risks for Whale Sharks
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
Satellite Data Casts Light on Seamounts at Risk
Emerging tools and datasets help quantify fishing pressure and can inform management at remote, unmonitored seamounts Seamounts—large underwater mountains— hold vital biological diversity, but they also contend with heavy exploitation. Numbering in the tens of
New Techniques Reveal Fishing Vessel Identities in the Dark of Night
New Global Fishing Watch technology merges nighttime images with GPS datasets to observe vessels not broadcasting their positions When the sun sets, human activity on the ocean goes on. And every night, satellites snap a