Data covering fishery-related catch and fishing production. 

fisheries

Fisheries

Data covering the marine environment, including fisheries, coral reef  health, ocean chemistry, and coastal zones.

oceans-seas-coasts

Oceans, Seas, & Coasts

### Overview  
  
The Apparent Fishing Effort dataset, produced by Global Fishing Watch (GFW), shows the distribution of time spent fishing in different locations throughout the ocean at a 0.01 degree resolution between 2012 and 2021. The time spent fishing in each pixel is tracked using a maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS).

  
  
Commercial fishing is a vital part of the global economy and is crucial to the food security and cultural identity of millions of people. However some practices, like trawling and dredging, destroy far more ocean habitat than any other fishing practice. When dredging or trawling, commercial vessels drag a dredge or heavy net, respectively, along the seafloor to scrape up species like oysters or shrimp. The process of scraping the seafloor is extremely destructive to deep-sea marine ecosystems, productivity, biodiversity, and carbon storage. Historically, practices like trawling and dredging have been difficult and costly to monitor, but technology and transparency are driving tangible change in how the sector is managed. 

  
  
Global Fishing Watch is advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. By creating and publicly sharing map visualizations, data and analysis tools, they enable scientific research and drive a transformation in how we manage our ocean. By 2030, they aim to monitor and visualize the impact of ocean-going vessels, both industrial and small-scale, that are responsible for the vast majority of the global seafood catch.
  
  
### Methodology  
  
Global Fishing Watch’s apparent fishing effort dataset is based on transmissions broadcast using publicly available automatic identification system (AIS) information. AIS is a GPS-like device that large ships use to broadcast their position in order to avoid collisions. Each year, more than 400,000 AIS devices broadcast vessel location along with other information on vessel identity, course and speed. Ground stations and satellites pick up this information, meaning a ship’s movements can be followed even in the most remote parts of the ocean. 

  
  
GFW uses two convolutional neural networks (CNN)—a cutting edge form of machine learning model—to help classify fishing vessels (vessel characterization model) and predict when they are fishing (fishing detection model). They first [identify fishing vessels](https://globalfishingwatch.org/datasets-and-code-vessel-identity/) by combining a comprehensive database of vessel registry information with the output of the vessel characterization model to predict features like geartype and size. Next, GFW estimates where and when each vessel is fishing based on its movement patterns. The fishing detection model was trained using over a thousand manually labeled vessel tracks to learn what fishing movements look like. This model predicts a score for every AIS position in the database to distinguish fishing positions from non-fishing positions, such as during vessel transits. When the fishing detection model scores an AIS position as a fishing position, the time associated with that AIS position is considered apparent fishing activity. For more information about the two models, please see the supplementary materials of the [associated paper](https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aao5646).

  
  
After identifying fishing vessels and detecting fishing positions in the AIS data, apparent fishing effort can be calculated for any area by summarizing the fishing hours for all fishing vessels in that area. Global Fishing Watch’s fishing detection algorithm is a best effort mathematically to identify “apparent fishing activity.” As a result, it is possible that some fishing activity is not identified as such by Global Fishing Watch; conversely, Global Fishing Watch may show apparent fishing activity where fishing is not actually taking place. 

  
  
 To generate maps of apparent fishing effort GFW “rasterizes” the AIS positions by placing them into a grid and calculating the total fishing activity in each grid cell. 

  
  
For the full documentation, please see the source [methodology](https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aao5646)
  
  
### Additional Information  
  
Resource Watch shows only a subset of the dataset. This map displays effort by all vessels other than trawlers or dredgers. Resource Watch shows separate GFW data for [Trawling Activity](https://resourcewatch.org/data/explore/6ccfb266-20cd-4838-82b0-5309987a62f0). [Data disaggregated by flag state, vessel, and gear type](https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-fishing-effort) is also available through Global Fishing Watch. 

  
  
For access to the full dataset and additional information, click on the “Learn more” button.
  
  
### Visualizing the Data  
  
Our team requested a visualization of the data through the Global Fishing Watch API. This visualization powered by 4-Wings, Global Fishing Watch experimental technology for rapid access to global
scale temporal data sets. See the documentation on how Resource Watch retrieved the data on [Github.](https://github.com/resource-watch/data-pre-processing/tree/master/com_030a_rw1_fishing_activity)  
  
### Disclaimer  
  
Excerpts of this description page were taken from the source metadata. Resource Watch shows only a subset of the dataset. For access to the full dataset and additional information, click on the “Learn more” button.

AIS-based Apparent Fishing Effort (excluding Trawl and Dredge vessels)

com-030a-rw1-fishing-activity-rw

ocean-watch

Ocean Watch

2022 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2020 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2021 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2012 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2019 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2018 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2014 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2015 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2016 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2013 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

2017 Apparent Fishing Activity (excluding Trawling and Dredging)

Total apparent fishing effort from 2012 to 72 hours prior to the present time by vessels other than trawl and dredge fishing vessels, as reported by Global Fishing Watch.

Fishing Activity