{"id":86951,"date":"2023-01-19T05:00:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T05:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lebanonnewsgazette.com\/?guid=c98fe7a88b2b8c3254cdfb729e13c163"},"modified":"2023-01-19T05:00:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T05:00:06","slug":"new-research-reveals-shifting-identities-of-global-fishing-fleet-to-help-bolster-fisheries-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lebanonnewsgazette.com\/new-research-reveals-shifting-identities-of-global-fishing-fleet-to-help-bolster-fisheries-management\/","title":{"rendered":"New research reveals shifting identities of global fishing fleet to help bolster fisheries management"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scientific study fuses multiple data sources to advance global understanding of vessel identity and behavior<\/h4>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A new study published today in Science Advances combines a decade\u2019s worth of satellite vessel tracking data with identification information from more than 40 public registries to determine where and when vessels responsible for most of the world\u2019s industrial fishing change their country of registration, a practice known as \u201creflagging\u201d, and identify hotspots of potential unauthorized fishing and activity of foreign-owned vessels.<\/p>\n

Using big data processing and a compilation of global datasets, researchers from Global Fishing Watch, the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab from Duke University, and Stockholm Resilience Centre were able to track and analyze 35,000 commercial fishing and support vessels to reveal their changing identities and enable the reconstruction of vessel histories to demonstrate reflagging patterns.<\/p>\n

The study, \u201cTracking Elusive and Shifting Identities of the Global Fishing Fleet<\/a>” found that close to 20 percent of high seas fishing is carried out by vessels that are either internationally unregulated or not publicly authorized, with large concentrations of these ships operating in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and the western Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

The data used in the study is intended to complement the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations\u2019 Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels<\/a>, a flagship transparency initiative which serves as the official database of information on vessels used for fishing and fishing-related activities. Together with the International Maritime Organization\u2019s ship identification number scheme<\/a>, these resources can provide fisheries authorities with the information needed to adequately monitor vessel activity, implement flag State responsibilities, and inform responsible fisheries management.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil now, we\u2019ve had limited information linking together the identity and activity of specific vessels,\u201d said Jaeyoon Park, senior data scientist at Global Fishing Watch and lead author of the study. \u201cWhen a vessel\u2019s identity is changed, it makes tracking them all the more difficult, allowing bad actors the opportunity to take advantage of information gaps and avoid oversight. We need to close that loophole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 116 States involved in reflagging, the study found that one-fifth of them were responsible for about 80 percent of this practice over the past decade, with most reflagging occurring in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The study found that reflagging takes place in just a few ports\u2014Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Busan, Zhoushan, and Kaohsiung have the highest activity. Vessels are often reflagged to States that are unrelated to the ports in which they are changing their registrations. This means that a vessel can change its flag from one country to another without ever having to enter port in either of those countries.<\/p>\n

While there are legitimate reasons for a vessel to change its identity, abusive reflagging, or \u201cflag hopping,\u201d is one way that operators avoid oversight. The study found that fleets with prevalent reflagging are over five times more likely to be composed of vessels under foreign ownership which are often registered to \u201cflags of convenience,\u201d defined by the International Transport Workers’ Federation as countries that offer foreign shipowners the ability to register, or fly the flag, of their own State.<\/p>\n

While reflagging and foreign ownership are lawful, when not properly regulated and monitored, they can indicate a risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing accounts for as much as 20 percent of the global seafood catch with annual losses valued at up to $23.5 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing the identities of vessels fishing the high seas is critical for uncovering the connection between the potential IUU fishing behavior and vessels that repeatedly change their name, flag State or registered owner,\u201d said co-author Gabrielle Carmine, a doctoral candidate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. \u201cThis analysis could be used to help monitor fisheries more effectively and for accountability in the use and protection of marine biodiversity.”<\/p>\n

The study also identified concentrations of fishing activity by foreign-owned vessels, which are focused in parts of the high seas and certain national waters, including the southwest Pacific, the northwest Indian Ocean, Argentina and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and West Africa where vessels are typically owned by China, Chinese Taipei, and Spain. The hotspots in this study correspond to the areas in which multiple nongovernmental organizations have called for better governance systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy synthesizing more than 100 billion GPS positions with consolidated identity information from 200,000 vessels, we were able to reveal patterns about vessel activity from the past decade,\u201d added Park. \u201cThis study represents a major step forward in our ability to enhance monitoring efforts and help authorities direct enforcement resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

The data used in this study will be periodically updated and shared publicly to help enable better understanding of vessel behavior and bolster international fisheries management.<\/p>\n

Notes to the editor: <\/strong><\/p>\n