Research

Scientific collaboration to support a sustainable ocean

Advances in machine learning and satellite technologies can transform human management of the ocean, but taking advantage of these technologies requires effective partnerships and an interdisciplinary team.

At Global Fishing Watch, we connect machine learning experts with leaders in the scientific community to produce new datasets, publish impactful research and empower others to use our data.

Our collaborations contribute to discoveries and solutions critical to marine conservation, global economics and human welfare. These partnerships help us better understand the role commercial fishing plays in the physical, biological, economic and political factors of the ocean and ensures that we are addressing the most urgent ocean challenges.

Results generated from these collaborations can be found on our publications page.

Resources

In this video, research partners Kristina Boerder of Dalhousie University and Quentin Hanich of the University of Wollongong, speak to the value of Global Fishing Watch data to support research into pressing questions in fisheries research.

R package to support data analysis

Global Fishing Watch enables the research community to access data from its application programming interfaces, or APIs, directly through R—a specialized programming language for data processing, statistical analysis and data visualizations. The package, called gfwr, allows R users to request data from Global Fishing Watch’s APIs and receive data in a tidy format suitable for incorporation into new or existing R workflows. Installing gfwr gives academics, researchers, students and journalists the ability to easily pull data for analysis without any prior API experience.

See how we empower others to use our data here.

In 2018, we published the first high-resolution map of global fishing activity. Our findings revealed that commercial fishing takes place across more than 55 percent of the ocean—a footprint, by area, greater than four times that of agriculture.

Combining four satellite technologies—automatic identification system, optical imagery, nighttime optical imagery and radar—with machine learning, we identified the largest reported case of illegal fishing.

By combining satellite data, machine learning and on-the-ground expertise from human rights practitioners, we identified vessels with a high risk of engaging in human rights abuses.

Research Partners

Recent Work

Emerging technology gives first ever global view of hidden vessels

June 8, 2022

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,

International Organizations Launch Collaborative Initiative in Fight Against Illegal Fishing

June 5, 2022

The Joint Analytical Cell aims to bolster fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance Costing the global economy billions of dollars in lost revenue each year, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is impacting the health

whale shark swimming in the ocean with fish next to it

Satellite Technology Can Reveal Collision Risks for Whale Sharks

May 25, 2022

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

May 3, 2022

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