Global Fishing Watch

The ocean provides a livelihood to millions and food security to billions of people worldwide. Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing drives inequity in these benefits and threatens the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. To reduce opportunities for IUU fishing and promote conditions that enable voluntary compliance and good stewardship, effective, connected and open monitoring systems […]

The ocean provides a livelihood to millions and food security to billions of people worldwide. Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing drives inequity in these benefits and threatens the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. To reduce opportunities for IUU fishing and promote conditions that enable voluntary compliance and good stewardship, effective, connected and open monitoring systems are required.

Since 2015, Global Fishing Watch has combined publicly available vessel tracking data with satellite technology and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to monitor fishing activities globally. Global Fishing Watch creates and shares data-driven tools that can be used for near real-time monitoring of fishing vessel activity and potential transshipment at sea. In the right hands, these tools can be used to plan and inform at sea fisheries patrols, as well as prioritize vessel inspections in ports. A lack of awareness around these open, AI-driven data, and a hesitancy of traditional fisheries management institutions, impedes their uptake.

In this project, Global Fishing Watch will address these challenges through a concerted capacity building and technology transfer effort so that these novel data products can be used to reduce IUU fishing and secure a healthy, thriving ocean for all.

The project is supported with SEK 3 470 000.