![]() Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs the global economy up to US$25 billion each year. “That is a really valuable contribution.” Expensive problem The study uses holes in tracking data “to tell us more about what we’re not seeing, what we’re missing”, says Juan Mayorga, a marine data scientist based in Santa Barbara, California, who is part of the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas project. Some of these gaps could mask illegal fishing, finds the study, which was published in Science Advances this month. The findings suggest that vessels hid up to 6% of their activity - more than 4.9 million hours between 20. Researchers studied gaps in the tracking data to identify hotspots where fishing vessels frequently disabled their devices on purpose - and to explore the possible reasons. ![]() Some ships carry automatic identification systems (AIS), which pinpoint their locations and help to prevent collisions, but can be turned off manually. Gaps in tracking data can hint at illegal activity, finds a modelling study 1. When fishing vessels hide their locations, they sometimes reveal a wealth of information. Fishing vessels have legitimate reasons to turn off their position-tracking systems - but there are some suspicious reasons, too.
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