see also: Overview Effect

For now, Global Fishing Watch only displays ship activity from the previous 2 years, but Oceana aims to eventually incorporate more recent data that will allow authorities to act quickly.

“The plan is that we will build out a public release version that will have near-real-time data, Then you’ll actually be able to see someone out there fishing within hours to days.”

Oceana has already used the system to monitor boats that have already been tagged for illegal fishing, though it still doesn’t pick up boats that haven’t registered with the automatic identification system, as well as vessels that go dark before reaching restricted waters. But the hope is that over time, Global Fishing Watch will serve as an important check to encourage fishers to stay within the law.

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