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Paolo FS, Kroodsma D, Raynor J, Hochberg T, Davis P, Cleary J, Marsaglia L, Orofino S, Thomas C, Halpin P. Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea. Nature 2024; 625:85-91. [PMID: 38172362 PMCID: PMC10764273 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The world's population increasingly relies on the ocean for food, energy production and global trade1-3, yet human activities at sea are not well quantified4,5. We combine satellite imagery, vessel GPS data and deep-learning models to map industrial vessel activities and offshore energy infrastructure across the world's coastal waters from 2017 to 2021. We find that 72-76% of the world's industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, with much of that fishing taking place around South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. We also find that 21-30% of transport and energy vessel activity is missing from public tracking systems. Globally, fishing decreased by 12 ± 1% at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. By contrast, transport and energy vessel activities were relatively unaffected during the same period. Offshore wind is growing rapidly, with most wind turbines confined to small areas of the ocean but surpassing the number of oil structures in 2021. Our map of ocean industrialization reveals changes in some of the most extensive and economically important human activities at sea.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jennifer Raynor
- Forest and Wildlife Ecology Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Pete Davis
- Global Fishing Watch, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jesse Cleary
- Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Sara Orofino
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | - Patrick Halpin
- Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Seto KL, Miller NA, Kroodsma D, Hanich Q, Miyahara M, Saito R, Boerder K, Tsuda M, Oozeki Y, Urrutia S. O. Fishing through the cracks: The unregulated nature of global squid fisheries. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadd8125. [PMID: 36897952 PMCID: PMC10005170 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add8125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
While most research has focused on the legality of global industrial fishing, unregulated fishing has largely escaped scrutiny. Here, we evaluate the unregulated nature of global squid fisheries using AIS data and nighttime imagery of the globalized fleet of light-luring squid vessels. We find that this fishery is extensive, fishing 149,000 to 251,000 vessel days annually, and that effort increased 68% over the study period 2017-2020. Most vessels are highly mobile and fish in multiple regions, largely (86%) in unregulated areas. While scientists and policymakers express concerns over the declining abundance of squid stocks globally and regionally, we find a net increase in vessels fishing squid globally and spatial expansion of effort to novel areas. Since fishing effort is static in areas with increasing management, and rising in unmanaged areas, we suggest actors may take advantage of fragmented regulations to maximize resource extraction. Our findings highlight a profitable, but largely unregulated fishery, with strong potential for improved management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine L. Seto
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Nathan A. Miller
- Global Fishing Watch, Washington, DC, USA
- SkyTruth, Shepherdstown, WV, USA
| | | | - Quentin Hanich
- Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | | | - Rui Saito
- Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yokohama, Japan
| | | | - Masaki Tsuda
- Global Fishing Watch, Washington, DC, USA
- Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Yoshioki Oozeki
- Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Osvaldo Urrutia S.
- Centro de Derecho del Mar, Faculty of Law, P. Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile
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