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.

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

New Technology to Help Tackle Illegal Fishing by Alerting Insurers to Risk

November 5, 2021

Global Fishing Watch, Trygg Mat Tracking, Oceana, Ocean Unite and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance are partnering to create a risk assessment tool to help insurers identify vessels at risk of illegal, unreported

African Nations to Use New Technology in Tightening Port Controls, Fighting Illegal Fishing With Big Data

November 4, 2021

Pilot project delivers new vessel tracking technology and analysis where limited resources hamper detection and enforcement efforts Dakar, Senegal – Four African nations and a regional fisheries organization are harnessing new technology to strengthen port

United States Coast Guard patrols over illegal driftnet fishing vessel

xVIEW3 Challenge: Just Weeks left to Submit Algorithms to Help Detect and Defeat Illegal Fishing

November 3, 2021

xVIEW3’s leader board has been heating up with potential computer vision solutions to detect dark vessels to help shine a light on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity Washington, D.C. — Close to 900 participants have

New Horizons for Peru’s Squid Fishery

October 18, 2021

Peruvian vessel monitoring system is shining a light on the large artisanal squid fleet in the Southeast Pacific Ocean, Peru’s second most important fishery. Peru recognizes the value of transparency to improve the monitoring and