Better companies
Change Stories
Simon and his AI double
AI at the office, what does it actually do? At BlaBlaCar, generative AI has become an everyday tool. Simon Rimbert, Senior Projec…
Better planetChange Stories
Tuesday, 24 March 2026
article
Shedding Light on the Oceans
Digital platform Global Fishing Watch is illuminating one of the vastest and least visible spaces on our planet: oceans. This initiative is rooted in a core conviction: transparency is an essential lever for better ocean governance and a powerful ally in the fight against overfishing and illegal fishing.
Revealing the Invisible
Global Mapping
Transparency as a Driver for Change
Positive Impact
Key figures
Revealing the Invisible
Covering more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface, the oceans remain a "blind spot" for governments, NGOs, and scientists - an environment that is still largely unexplored and extremely difficult to monitor. Without reliable and comprehensive data on human activities at sea, particularly industrial and commercial operations, sustainable resource management policies have long been operating in the dark.
Global Fishing Watch is changing the game by making activities that were previously opaque visible, traceable, and understandable.
Global Mapping
To track fishing activity on a global scale, this platform, launched in 2016 through a collaboration between Google, SkyTruth, and Oceana, relies on a suite of technologies and open data. It primarily utilizes AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals emitted by onboard beacons, which indicate a vessel's identity, position, speed, and course. These data points are supplemented by data from VMS (Vessel Monitoring System), which are monitoring devices mandated by certain states. Simultaneously, satellite imagery detects vessels even when their beacons are turned off.
All this information is analyzed by machine learning algorithms capable of distinguishing between different behaviors at sea: navigation, active fishing, or drifting. The result?
A precise and dynamic map of maritime activities worldwide.
Transparency as a Driver for Change
Global Fishing Watch makes this data available via an interactive map accessible to everyone. It enables users to visualize fishing zones across the globe, the types of vessels and their activities, as wel as seasonal fishing trends. This information serves as a vital tool for combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, assessing environmental impacts, conducting scientific research on marine ecosystems, and supporting the development of public policies and conservation strategies.
By facilitating free access to data, Global Fishing Watch turns transparency into an instrument of ocean governance, bridging the gap between science, political decision-making, and field action. Early collaborations already illustrate the potential of this approach. In Gabon, for instance, the platform works with the government and international partners to strengthen the monitoring of fishing activities in a biodiversity-rich area that is essential to local economies.
Positive Impact
This tool embodies a promise: that technological innovation and open data can generate tangible environmental and social impact. To see is to understand; to understand is to act more effectively. At a time when overfishing and climate change threaten ocean health and the food security of millions, this new capacity for observation and analysis becomes an essential lever for more informed decisions and fairer policies.
Key Figures
- 35 %: Approximate percentage of global fish stocks that are overexploited (fished beyond their renewal capacity).
- 60 %: Approximate percentage of stocks fished at their maximum sustainable limit.
- 7-10 %: Percentage of stocks that are underexploited.
- The Mediterranean and Black Seas are particularly affected, with over 60 % of their stocks overexploited.
- 3 billion people depend on fish as their primary source of protein.
Source: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources 2025.
