Pacific Ocean
Combating Illegal Fishing in the Pacific Ocean
Markets
Fisheries, NGOs
Location
High Seas Pockets
Date
Sep 5, 2024
In the remote High Seas Pockets, where oversight is limited, the battle against illegal fishing is crucial to preserving marine ecosystems and sustaining global fish stocks.
In October and November 2023, Unseenlabs conducted two RF data collection campaigns within the High Seas Pockets, a strategic region in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. These pockets, located between the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, are characterized by intense fishing activity and significant challenges related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The region's isolation and its status as a high seas area make it particularly vulnerable to these illicit activities, with species like skipjack, juvenile bigeye, and yellowfin tunas at risk from non-selective fishing practices.
The campaigns by Unseenlabs aimed to enhance the monitoring and protection of this heavily trafficked and ecologically sensitive region.
Cumulated coverages of 8 data collections
around 300,000 km2 each
77 RF positions detected and geolocated
52 emitters correlated with AIS & 32,5% of RF only emitters
25 RF only positions detected & geolocated
