{"id":39995,"date":"2025-07-25T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=39995"},"modified":"2025-07-24T20:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:54:25","slug":"we-tracked-illegal-fishing-in-marine-protected-areas-satellites-and-ai-show-most-bans-are-respected-and-could-help-enforce-future-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/we-tracked-illegal-fishing-in-marine-protected-areas-satellites-and-ai-show-most-bans-are-respected-and-could-help-enforce-future-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"We tracked illegal fishing in marine protected areas \u2013 satellites and AI show most bans are respected, and could help enforce future ones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jennifer Raynor<\/a>, University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine protected areas cover more than 8%<\/a> of the world\u2019s oceans today, but they can get a bad rap as being protected on paper only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the name invokes safe havens for fish, whales and other sea life, these areas can be hard to monitor. High-profile violations, such as recent fishing fleet incursions near the Galapagos Islands<\/a> and ships that \u201cgo dark<\/a>\u201d by turning off their tracking devices<\/a>, have fueled concerns about just how much poaching is going undetected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some protected areas are successfully keeping illegal fishing out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a new global study<\/a> using satellite technology that can track large ships even if they turn off their tracking systems, my colleagues and I found that marine protected areas where industrial fishing is fully banned are largely succeeding at preventing poaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What marine protected areas aim to save<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Picture a sea turtle gliding by as striped butterfly fish<\/a> weave through coral branches. Or the deep blue of the open ocean, where tuna flash like silver and seabirds wheel overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These habitats, where fish and other marine life breed and feed, are the treasures that marine protected areas aim to protect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major threat to these ecosystems is industrial fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These vessels can operate worldwide and stay at sea for years at a time<\/a> with visits from refrigerated cargo ships that ferry their catch to port. China has an extensive global fleet of ships that operate as far away as the coast of South America and other regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global industrial fishing fleet \u2013 nearly half a million vessels<\/a> \u2013 hauls in about 100 million metric tons<\/a> of seafood each year. That\u2019s about a fivefold increase since 1950, though it has been close to flat for the past 30 years. Today, more than one-third<\/a> of commercial fish species are overfished, exceeding what population growth can replenish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fleets
Large fleets of fishing boats, supported by refrigerator ships to ferry their catch to shore, can stay at sea for months at a time. VCG\/VCG via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When well designed and enforced<\/a>, marine protected areas can help to restore fish populations and marine habitats<\/a>. My previous work shows they can even benefit nearby fisheries<\/a> because the fish spill over into surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why expanding marine protected areas is a cornerstone of international conservation policy. Nearly every country has pledged to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big promises \u2013 and big doubts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But what \u201cprotection\u201d means can vary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some marine protected areas ban industrial fishing. These are the gold standard for conservation<\/a>, and research shows they can be effective<\/a> ways to increase the amount of sea life and diversity of species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, most marine protected areas don\u2019t meet that standard. While governments report that more than 8% of the global ocean<\/a> is protected, only about 3% is actually covered by industrial fishing bans<\/a>. Many \u201cprotected\u201d areas even allow bottom trawling, one of the most destructive fishing practices, although regulations are slowly changing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sharks
Grey reef sharks at Bokak Pass, in the Marshall Islands\u2019 first marine protected area, created in January 2025. Manu San F\u00e9lix, National Geographic Pristine Seas<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The plentiful fish in better-protected areas can also attract poachers. In one high-profile case, a Chinese vessel was caught inside the Gal\u00e1pagos Marine Reserve with 300 tons of marine life, including 6,000 dead sharks<\/a>, in 2017. This crew faced heavy fines and prison time. But how many others go unseen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shining a light on the \u2018dark fleet\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Much of what the world knows about global industrial fishing comes from the automatic identification system, or AIS, which many ships are required to use<\/a>. This system broadcasts their location every few seconds, primarily to reduce the risk of collisions at sea. Using artificial intelligence, researchers can analyze movement patterns in these messages to estimate when and where fishing is happening<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But AIS has blind spots. Captains can turn it off, tamper with data or avoid using it entirely<\/a>. Coverage is also spotty in busy areas<\/a>, such as Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New satellite technologies are helping to see into those blind spots. Synthetic aperture radar<\/a> can detect vessels even when they\u2019re not transmitting AIS<\/a>. It works by sending radar pulses to the ocean surface and measuring what bounces back. Paired with artificial intelligence, it reveals previously invisible activity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synthetic aperture radar still has limits \u2013 primarily difficulty detecting small boats and less frequent coverage than AIS \u2013 but it\u2019s still a leap forward. In one study of coastal areas using both technologies, we found in about 75% of instances<\/a> fishing vessels detected by synthetic aperture radar were not being tracked by AIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New global analysis shows what really happens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two studies published in the journal Science on July 24, 2025, use these satellite datasets to track industrial fishing activity in marine protected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our study looked just at those marine protected areas<\/a> where all industrial fishing is explicitly banned by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We combined AIS vessel tracking, synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery, official marine protected area rules<\/a>, and implementation dates showing exactly when those bans took effect. The analysis covers nearly 1,400 marine protected areas spanning about 3 million square miles (7.9 million square kilometers) where industrial fishing is explicitly prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
AIS transponder signals over 2017-2021 (top) and synthetic aperture radar data (bottom) both show industrial fishing activity (yellow) mostly avoiding Carrington Point State Marine Reserve, a protected area off California\u2019s Santa Rosa Island. Jennifer Raynor, Sara Orofino and Gavin McDonald<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The results were striking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n