AIS Archives - Ocean and Coastal Futures

08 Nov 2022

Global analysis shows where fishing vessels turn off their identification devices

A new dataset of intentional disabling of Automatic Identification System devices by fishing vessels provides insights into illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activity Data from the shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS), which was created as a collision avoidance tool, can provide information about global fishing activity, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Fishing vessels may […]

08 Jun 2021

Fishing fleets that go ‘dark’

Marine News

Hundreds of fishing fleets that go ‘dark’ are suspected of illegal fishing. In a global case study of possible AIS avoidance, vessels primarily from China switch off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in possible illegal fishing. Click here and here.

16 Apr 2019

Spotting MARPOL violations from space

News

Bypassing the ship’s oily water separator to dump bilge waste is an illegal but relatively common practice. In the United States, it is one of the most frequently prosecuted maritime crimes, thanks to generous whistleblower awards, the ease of finding physical evidence and an enthusiasm for MARPOL enforcement. However, oily water discharge rules are less commonly […]