A recent study by Global Fishing Watch has revealed a huge amount of activities at sea hitherto not followed.
The ocean has long been a large and mysterious border, covering more than 70 % of the surface of the earth. It is the vital element of global trade, a crucial food source and a key player in energy production. However, despite its importance, a large part of what is happening on its surface remains surrounded by secret.
By taking advantage of satellite imaging, GPS data from ships and artificial intelligence, researchers have created a detailed map of industrial ships and offshore energy infrastructure.
The results reveal considerable shortcomings in public follow -up systems, raising urgent concerns concerning maritime transparency, environmental sustainability and global security.
Dark sea ships
For years, maritime organizations and governments have been based on the automatic identification system (AIS) to follow the movements of ships. Although the AIS is useful for monitoring recorded ships, it has important limits.
All countries do not impose its use and many ships turn off their transponders to avoid being detected, in particular those who engage in illegal activities. fishingsmuggling and other illicit activities.
Experts have found that between 72 % and 76 % of industrial fishing ships worldwide are not publicly followed – a striking figure that highlights the hidden magnitude of commercial fishing operations.
Even more worrying, 21 to 30 % of the activity of transport and energy ships are absent from public surveillance systems, even more obscuring the actual extent of the industrial use of the ocean.
Hidden fishing activity
Most of this undated activity occurs in South Asia, Southeast Asia and on the north and west coasts of Africa. These regions, rich in marine biodiversity, are also households of illegal traffic. fishingthe overexploitation of marine resources and environmental degradation.
Without a reliable and transparent monitoring system, governments and environmental defenders have trouble enforcing regulations, protecting fish stocks and monitoring maritime security.
The implications of this dark ship activity extend far beyond fishing. More than a billion people depend on the ocean as the main source of food, and 260 million people are directly employed by global maritime fishing.
In addition, 80 % of all goods exchanged is transported by sea, and almost 30 % of global oil production takes place at sea. Without precise follow -up, illegal activities such as forced work, trafficking in human beings And environmental crimes can continue without control, thus undergoing efforts to promote sustainable ocean management.
AI and satellites reveal dark vessels
To remedy the limits of AIS and other conventional monitoring systems, researchers turned to artificial intelligence and satellite technology.
They used deep learning models to analyze two satellite image petacts from the European Spatial Sentinel-1 satellite constellation. This system powered by AI was formed to detect and classify ships with remarkable precision, far exceeding previous methods.
The team has designed and formed three deep convolutive neural networks to analyze satellite images and GPS data from ships.
These models have reached an accuracy of detection of objects of more than 97 %, a classification accuracy of 98 % for offshore infrastructure and a precision rate of 90 % for the distinction. fishing Non-fisherman ships.
Unveiling of the activity of ships not followed
The data set used for this analysis was massive. The researchers examined 67 million images tiles, including 53 billion positions of AIS ships, to determine which ships actively diffused their position and which operated in the shadows.
The resolution of the satellite radar allowed the team to detect objects as small as 15 meters, thus making it possible to follow industrial fishing ships, cargo cargoes, oil tankers and offshore infrastructure with unprecedented clarity.
“Our satellite cartography has revealed strong activity densities of ships in large ocean areas, which previously showed little or no activity of ships by public follow -up systems,” said the Research team.
The results of the study have already reshaped our understanding of global maritime activity, revealing areas where fishing and transport ships operate unattended.
This new method of monitoring ships will play a decisive role in identifying illegal fishing stitches, detection of human rights violations at sea and improving compliance with protected marine areas (AMP).
Offshore energy rise: wind against oil
Beyond the movements of ships, the study also mapped the rapid expansion of offshore energy infrastructure.
In 2021, offshore wind turbines had exceeded the oil structures in number, an important step in the transition to renewable energies. Wind energy represented 48 % of all offshore structures, while oil facilities represented 38 %.
Despite the growth of wind energy, oil traffic linked to oil still exceeds that of wind infrastructure, oil platforms generating five times more ships than wind farms. The global transition to offshore renewable energies is underway, but oil remains dominant in terms of maritime traffic and industrial imprint.
The study of Global Fisheries Surveillance have found that offshore wind farms are highly concentrated in northern Europe (52 %) and China (45 %), China experiencing an extraordinary increase of 900 %of the number of offshore wind turbines between 2017 and 2021.
Meanwhile, offshore oil infrastructure remains concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia being at the top of the platforms of platforms oil.
As renewable energy infrastructure continues to grow, it will be crucial to understand how these structures interact with the existing maritime industries. The study revealed that trawlers avoid fishing less than one kilometer from oil platforms, which is likely to avoid tangible in the nets.
However, other fishing activities develop around offshore infrastructure, as these structures can serve as artificial reefs attracting marine life.
The future of maritime surveillance
In addition to monitoring satellite ships, new AI -based technologies should revolutionize the detection of ships in real time. The rapid surveillance information system (discount), developed in partnership with ESA,, ST,, VakeAnd Emlogical In Norway, promises to locate the ships in a few hours instead of a few days.
Current satellite surveillance is based on the transmission of images by downward connection, their ground treatment and their manual analysis, which can take days. As the authorities receive data, dark ships may have evolved, which makes the application difficult.
Based the images in space, by giving priority to those containing vessels before sending them to stations to the ground. This considerably reduces the transmission time of data and processing costs, allowing authorities to follow the ships in almost real time.
“If we can already identify ships on board and potentially even combine it with AI systems, we could mark dark ships and give priority to scenes containing ships or their location,” explains Maris Tali, technical manager at the head of the project.
This system will be particularly useful for detecting illegal fishing ships, prevent collisions with ships and redirect maritime traffic in an emergency. This represents a significant step forward in global ocean surveillance.
Impact of the COVVI-19 on the fishing activity
The study also examined how maritime activity was affected by the COVVI-19 pandemic. Although global fishing The activity dropped by 12 % in 2020, it has not yet found the levels before the pandemic. However, the activity of ships related to transport and energy has remained relatively little affected during the same period.
This decline in fishing is part of a longer term trend. Since the 1980s, global captures of marine fish have remained stagnant, many fisheries that have reached or exceeded lasting limits. Meanwhile, offshore energy and maritime trade continue to develop, reshaping human interactions with the ocean.
As the industrialization of oceans accelerates, conflicts between fisheries, energy promoters and environmental defenders are likely to intensify.
Understanding these trends is essential for political decision -makers, environmental groups and industry leaders to be able to make informed decisions on the management of marine resources.
Call for transparency and responsibility
The conclusions of this study highlight the urgent need for greater transparency in maritime activity. With three quarters of the industry fishing Performing outside of public monitoring systems, governments must adopt stricter regulations and better application mechanisms.
Satellite surveillance and real -time detection systems based on AI such as given offer new powerful tools to combat illegal fishing, improve ocean governance and strengthen environmental protection.
While human activity in the oceans continues to grow, the need for responsibility, sustainability and international cooperation has never been so great. By highlighting the hidden industrial fleet operating in our oceans, science and technology open the way to a more transparent and more durable future.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
Image credit: European space agency
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