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.Â
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.
Research Partners
Recent Work
New Fusion of Global Datasets Advances Understanding of Vessel Identity and Activity
Novel research provides new tool to improve global fisheries oversight Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing accounts for up to $23.5 billion every year and is enabled by vessels frequently changing their name, flag State
New research reveals shifting identities of global fishing fleet to help bolster fisheries management
Scientific study fuses multiple data sources to advance global understanding of vessel identity and behavior A new study published today in Science Advances combines a decade’s worth of satellite vessel tracking data with identification information
2022: A Year of Success—and Greater Promise
A wave of ocean action shows opportunities for greater transparency toward marine governance 2022 dawned with even more uncertainty than most years. With COVID-19 lingering, it was unclear if the ocean conservation and fisheries management
Hotspots of Unseen Fishing Vessels Illuminate Areas of Concern for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
New study provides first global dataset examining intentional disabling of automatic identification system devices across commercial fisheries The ocean is vast and ship crews rely on several tools to navigate it safely. One of these