Panama’s new transparency commitment is the latest milestone in the country’s transformation into a global leader for fisheries management, says Global Fishing Watch’s Mónica Espinoza Miralles
Panama’s latest transparency commitment, announced today at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, may be one of the most significant announcements to come out of the event. By making the vessel monitoring system (VMS) data for nearly 200 vessels from its national fishing fleet publicly available on the Global Fishing Watch map, the country is reinforcing its leading role in a growing global movement dedicated to visible, accountable and sustainable ocean governance.
But it wasn’t always this way. Today’s announcement is just the most recent milestone in a transformation that few would have predicted a decade ago. After receiving two European Union yellow cards in 2012 and 2017 for noncompliance with international conservation and management measures as well as shortcomings in efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, Panama embarked on a series of reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability across its fishing sector. The country is now emerging as a model for how political will and collaboration can drive meaningful reform. By disclosing comprehensive fisheries data – including domestic and international licenses and their holders, sanctioning processes and beneficial ownership information for its international fleet – Panama is setting the gold standard for transparency.
By making VMS aggregated data from its national shrimp trawlers and longline fleets visible on the Global Fishing Watch map, Panama is expanding transparency into fishing activity in its own waters and creating new opportunities for scientific research, traceability and responsible fisheries governance. The roughly 200 vessels that will be added to Global Fishing Watch’s public map join an already monitored 350 vessels from Panama’s international fleet, sending a powerful signal that transparency does not stop at distant-water fleets but must extend to the fisheries operating closest to home.
At Global Fishing Watch, we are proud to have partnered with the Panamanian Authority of Aquatic Resources throughout this journey. What began in 2019 with the public sharing of vessel tracking data from Panama’s international fleet has evolved into a deep collaboration supporting fisheries management, evidence-based decision-making and transparency reforms. Together, we have demonstrated how open data and technology can help strengthen governance, improve accountability and support sustainable ocean management.
But Panama’s story is more than just a paean to transparency. Above all, it shows that no country is defined solely by its challenges. Indeed, by choosing transparency, Panama is successfully transforming itself from a country responding to international scrutiny into one helping shape the future of fisheries governance.
Now the challenge is for others to follow. Vessel tracking should be a global standard, not a selective practice. Every government should commit to making fishing activity visible, and verifiable, holding vessel operators fully accountable. Because illegal fishing thrives in the dark and sustainable fisheries depend on our ability to see what is happening at sea.
Mónica Espinoza Miralles is head of Latin America at Global Fishing Watch