The Global Fishing Monitor

Global Fishing Watch has released a new interactive mapping portal which is designed to help protect and monitor marine protected areas. The Global Fishing Marine Manager uses near real-time ship AIS data to track commercial fishing activity and non-fishing vessel activity, particularly around marine protected areas.

Using the Global Fishing Marine Manager it is possible to visualize and monitor human activity at sea. It can be used to analyze fishing and shipping activity around protected areas and around exclusive economic zones. The manager includes filters and data which make it possible to explore the activity of individual fishing vessels and specific dates.

The screenshot above shows how the map and timeline is used to visualize fishing activity around the Galapagos Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The Global Fishing Marine Manager not only shows where  fishing activity has taken place but shows that there was a significant increase in fishing activity in this area during 2020. You can even click on any of the fishing hotspots on the map to view a list of the vessels who were in the area and for how many hours that they were active around the Galapagos Islands.

Marine Protected Areas are extremely important in protecting marine habitats, species, and biodiversity in our oceans. Over-fishing is one of the biggest dangers faced by marine protected areas. This over-fishing also threatens the local communities, who often depend on these environments for their livelihoods. Hopefully the Global Fishing Marine Manager can play a role in revealing and monitoring some of the biggest threats to important marine protected areas.