Global Fishing Watch
Global Fishing Watch uses satellites and AI to map fishing; its 2024 Nature study found about 75% of industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked (Global Fishing Watch).
Image: NASA (iss073e0257194).
Last reviewed: 3 sources cited
Explain Like I'm 10
- Big fishing ships sail all over the ocean, and many of them are hard to see.
- Global Fishing Watch uses pictures from space and smart computers to find them.
- They put the map online for free, so everyone can see where fishing happens and protect the ocean.
The Five W's of Global Fishing Watch
Who
Global Fishing Watch, an independent nonprofit founded by Oceana, SkyTruth and Google.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, About Us
What
Free public maps and data that show where boats fish, built from vessel GPS signals, satellite images and machine learning.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, Support Us
When
Founded in 2015; its first public fishing map came out in 2016, and it became independent in 2017.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, About Us
Why
The ocean is the least observed part of our planet, so overfishing and illegal fishing can stay hidden.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, About Us
Impact Statement
Nonprofit solution · active
A Global Fishing Watch-led study in Nature analyzed 2 million gigabytes of satellite images and found about 75% of the world's industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, including many inside marine protected areas.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, Nature study on industrial activity at sea
For Further Information: Global Fishing Watch, Nature study on industrial activity at sea
Satellites and AI showed about 75% of industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked.
How This Saves People & the Planet
For People
Open data helps protect fisheries and the livelihoods of small-scale fishers, and shows where industrial boats may be entering local fishing grounds.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, Nature study on industrial activity at sea
For Nature
Revealing "dark" vessels helps governments enforce marine protected areas and protect The variety of all living things in a place: plants, animals, fungi and tiny microbes. Glossary.
Source: Global Fishing Watch, About Us
Support Global Fishing Watch
Want to go deeper? Global Fishing Watch has the full study.
For Further InformationRelated Solutions
More solutions like this one, matched by meaning.
For Teachers
Discussion questions
- What is Global Fishing Watch, and what problem does it help solve?
- Who is behind Global Fishing Watch, and where does the work happen?
- How does Global Fishing Watch help both people and nature? Use one fact from this page.
Sources are listed with each fact in the Five W's above.
Cite This Page
APA
Saving Planets. (n.d.). Global Fishing Watch. https://www.savingplanets.com/Global_Fishing_Watch.html
MLA
"Global Fishing Watch." Saving Planets, https://www.savingplanets.com/Global_Fishing_Watch.html.