Law enforcement

Big Brother at Sea

Ship to ship transfers can be made quickly and covertly on the high seas, leaving law enforcement officials unaware of the passage of illegal cargo in this watery Wild West. And it’s no small problem: a 2014 study found that up to a third of wild-caught seafood sold in the United States was harvested illegally. To combat this shadowy business, Global Fishing Watch, is monitoring the world’s fishing fleets by satellites, hoping to cast light on the dark places beyond national borders.

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.