Technology innovation company, the Satellite Applications Catapult and The Pew Charitable Trusts, have launched a new real-time technology to help authorities monitor, detect and respond to illegal fishing activity.
The live satellite monitoring system, Project Eyes on the Seas, has been developed by the Catapult for Pew and is initially being launched in the waters of Chile, Palau, and the UK Overseas Territories. It is the latest significant stage in a long-term effort by Pew to dramatically reduce illegal or “pirate” fishing around the world, said to cost US$23.5bn annually.
Stuart Martin, CEO, the Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “Satellite data is playing a key role in helping to put an end to illegal fishing. Through the tenacity of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the innovation and technological advancements developed by the Catapult and industry players, protecting our seas, the ecosystem and the livelihood of many villages can now become a reality, rather than an idealistic goal.”
The system analyses the data using multiple sources of live satellite tracking data and links it to information about a ship’s ownership, history and country of registration, providing a dossier of up-to-the-minute data that can alert officials to suspicious vessel movements.
Project Eyes on the Seas will launch initially with a ‘Virtual Watch Room’ monitoring the waters surrounding Easter Island.
But over the next three years, the plan is to grow the system’s capability and scope as more countries, regional fisheries management organisations and seafood retail groups commit to using it.
