Big Brother at Sea
Global Fishing Watch monitors the positions of boats by tracking the broadcasts from their onboard automated identification system (AIS) transponders. All passenger ships and vessels larger than 300 gross tonnage are required by the International Maritime Organization to transmit their position. The system’s main purpose is to reduce the likelihood of collisions between ships, but Global Fishing Watch analysts found they can follow a vessel, decipher its fishing activity, and see where it meets other ships.
With data from AIS and other satellite tracking systems, the team has created a global map of transshipping activity. They’ve found that ships cluster outside the boundaries of exclusive economic zones—areas where marine resources are regulated—raising suspicions that the transshipments are associated with illegal fishing.
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