Latest / How To Protect The Ocean / The Ocean Is Visible Now, What Happens Next Is Up to Us
Transcript
- 0:00Satellite
- 0:00monitoring is
- 0:01changing ocean
- 0:02protection.
- 0:03You can turn off
- 0:04your transponder.
- 0:05You can change
- 0:06your flag.
- 0:07You can even move
- 0:08at night, but you
- 0:09cannot hide from
- 0:11space any longer.
- 0:13This is the How
- 0:13to Protect the
- 0:14Ocean podcast,
- 0:15your weekly ocean
- 0:15news update.
- 0:16If you care about
- 0:17staying informed
- 0:18about the ocean
- 0:19every weekday,
- 0:20hit that
- 0:20follow button
- 0:21right now so you
- 0:22don't miss
- 0:23tomorrow's story.
- 0:24Let's start off
- 0:25with satellite
- 0:26tracking.
- 0:27So satellite
- 0:27tracking, AIS
- 0:28systems and
- 0:29machine learning
- 0:30are
- 0:30transforming the
- 0:32way we do ocean
- 0:33enforcement for
- 0:34the first time in
- 0:34history.
- 0:35Large scale
- 0:36fishing effort
- 0:37can be observed
- 0:37globally near and
- 0:39near real time.
- 0:40Enforcement is no
- 0:41longer limited to
- 0:43patrol boats,
- 0:43which we talked
- 0:44about in
- 0:44yesterday's
- 0:45episode.
- 0:46So the key
- 0:46question here is
- 0:47can technology
- 0:47close the
- 0:48enforcement gap
- 0:49in marine
- 0:50protection? Let's
- 0:51talk about the
- 0:52evolution of
- 0:53monitoring or
- 0:54even the
- 0:54revolution of
- 0:55monitoring.
- 0:56Automatic
- 0:57identification
- 0:57systems, AIS,
- 0:59were originally
- 0:59designed to avoid
- 1:01collision.
- 1:02So large ships
- 1:03move at night or
- 1:04move around.
- 1:04And sometimes it's difficult to
- 1:06see where
- 1:06they are.
- 1:07They don't want
- 1:07to collide
- 1:08mid trip.
- 1:10And so that could
- 1:11be a big help to
- 1:12make sure that
- 1:12they know where
- 1:13everybody is.
- 1:14Large vessels are
- 1:15required to
- 1:16broadcast
- 1:16location, speed
- 1:18and course.
- 1:18So these signals
- 1:19can be captured
- 1:20by satellites and
- 1:22organizations now
- 1:23aggregate
- 1:23AIS data
- 1:24globally.
- 1:26So global fishing
- 1:26watch, which I'll
- 1:27put the website
- 1:28in the show notes
- 1:29so that you can
- 1:29get access to
- 1:30what they do
- 1:31because they're a
- 1:31great
- 1:31organization.
- 1:32They have made
- 1:32much of this data
- 1:34globally
- 1:35accessible.
- 1:36So for the first
- 1:36time, fishing
- 1:37effort is visible
- 1:38at a planetary
- 1:39scale and
- 1:40visibility
- 1:41changes
- 1:42incentives.
- 1:43Just a quick
- 1:43story about AIS.
- 1:46I did a project
- 1:47for the
- 1:47government of
- 1:48Canada for DFO
- 1:49Department of
- 1:50Fisheries oceans
- 1:50in the way on the
- 1:51east coast
- 1:51of Canada.
- 1:52When I was a
- 1:53contractor and
- 1:54the biggest thing
- 1:55that they wanted
- 1:55to do is find out
- 1:56where vessels go
- 1:57along the east
- 1:58coast of Canada.
- 1:59And we used AIS
- 2:00data that we got
- 2:01from coast, the
- 2:02coast guard, the
- 2:03Canadian
- 2:04coast guard.
- 2:05And we were able
- 2:05to use and make
- 2:06tracks and look
- 2:07at heat maps of
- 2:08where the most
- 2:09popular areas and
- 2:10shipping lanes
- 2:10were for
- 2:11the ships.
- 2:13It was great
- 2:13data, but it was
- 2:14always
- 2:14behind a wall.
- 2:16It was very difficult even
- 2:17for the
- 2:17Department of
- 2:18Fisheries and
- 2:18Oceans to get
- 2:19access to this
- 2:19data because they
- 2:20wanted to make
- 2:20sure that not
- 2:21everybody had
- 2:22access to it
- 2:22because, you
- 2:22know, you got to
- 2:23worry about
- 2:23safety and
- 2:24everything
- 2:24like that.
- 2:25Global fishing
- 2:25watch is making
- 2:26it accessible
- 2:27publicly so that
- 2:28you have access
- 2:29to this AIS data.
- 2:30Now, I don't know
- 2:30how old the AIS
- 2:31data is.
- 2:32I'm sure it's
- 2:32fairly recent,
- 2:34but this is going
- 2:34to help
- 2:35conservationists
- 2:35and fisheries
- 2:36managers enjoy
- 2:37making maps of
- 2:39the shipping
- 2:39lanes and even
- 2:40for fisheries to
- 2:41make sure they
- 2:42know where
- 2:43everybody is at
- 2:43all times in
- 2:44terms of fishing.
- 2:45Now, there is
- 2:46also a study that
- 2:47came out that 75%
- 2:48of fishing
- 2:49vessels do not
- 2:49have their AIS
- 2:50turned on, which
- 2:51is a problem and
- 2:52that needs
- 2:53to be solved.
- 2:54But satellite
- 2:54imagery can come
- 2:55in and help out.
- 2:57So research using
- 2:59tracking has
- 2:59shown that
- 3:00industrial
- 3:00fishing activity
- 3:01covers more than
- 3:0255% of the ocean
- 3:03surface.
- 3:04That's like
- 3:05that's that's
- 3:07half of the ocean
- 3:08surface, right?
- 3:09And the ocean
- 3:09covers 71%
- 3:10of the planet.
- 3:11Think about how
- 3:13often these ships
- 3:14are around and
- 3:15how much it
- 3:15actually covers.
- 3:17Fishing effort
- 3:17concentrates
- 3:18around productive
- 3:18regions and MPa
- 3:20boundaries.
- 3:20Why MPa
- 3:21boundaries? We've
- 3:22talked about this
- 3:22in the past over
- 3:23the past couple
- 3:24of weeks.
- 3:24It's because
- 3:25they're
- 3:25productive
- 3:25because they
- 3:26allow for the
- 3:27biomass and
- 3:28numbers of
- 3:28animals, a fish
- 3:30to and all
- 3:31different types
- 3:32of seafood to be
- 3:33able to spill
- 3:33over those
- 3:34boundaries.
- 3:34So they're always
- 3:35around those
- 3:36boundaries.
- 3:36Now, some vessels
- 3:37deliberately turn
- 3:38off their AIS
- 3:39near
- 3:39protected areas.
- 3:41So patterns of
- 3:42dark activity can
- 3:44be detected using
- 3:47radar satellite.
- 3:48So that means you
- 3:49don't have to
- 3:50have a satellite
- 3:50just looks at the
- 3:51visual spectrum.
- 3:52Radar satellite
- 3:53looks at a
- 3:53spectrum that you
- 3:54cannot normally
- 3:55detect when you
- 3:56are looking out
- 3:57at the night.
- 3:58So you're able to
- 3:59see ships at
- 4:00night where they
- 4:00are and
- 4:01how they do.
- 4:01That's why we say
- 4:02they cannot hide
- 4:03anymore.
- 4:04So synthetic
- 4:05aperture radar,
- 4:06which is SAR,
- 4:07which is what the
- 4:08radar is, can
- 4:10detect vessels
- 4:11even if the AIS
- 4:12is turned off.
- 4:13So whether
- 4:14they're at night
- 4:14or the GPS is
- 4:15turned off, they
- 4:16can actually
- 4:16detect them where
- 4:17they are and what
- 4:18they're doing.
- 4:19Non-compliance
- 4:19leaves digital
- 4:20fingerprints.
- 4:21This is an
- 4:22important fact.
- 4:23You know, we need
- 4:24to make sure that
- 4:25we can account
- 4:25for these fishing
- 4:26vessels,
- 4:26especially if
- 4:27they're near
- 4:28productive or
- 4:29protected areas,
- 4:30because that's
- 4:30where the
- 4:30fish are.
- 4:31And that's where
- 4:32a lot of the
- 4:32illegal activity
- 4:33is happening. And
- 4:34that's where a
- 4:34lot of the
- 4:35illegal activity
- 4:35is happening.
- 4:37Now let's talk
- 4:37about illegal,
- 4:38unreported and
- 4:38unregulated
- 4:39fishing, IU
- 4:40fishing.
- 4:41So I you fishing
- 4:42cost the global
- 4:43economy and
- 4:44estimated 10 to
- 4:4523 billion US
- 4:47dollars annually.
- 4:48That's a
- 4:48huge amount.
- 4:49It
- 4:49disproportionately
- 4:50affects
- 4:51developing
- 4:51coastal nations
- 4:52and weak
- 4:53enforcement
- 4:54regions are
- 4:55especially
- 4:55vulnerable.
- 4:56So areas like of
- 4:57like say
- 4:58countries that
- 4:59cannot afford to
- 5:00do enforcement,
- 5:00that do not have
- 5:01the funding and
- 5:01we talked about
- 5:02yesterday to do
- 5:03enforcement.
- 5:03That's where
- 5:04illegal fishing
- 5:05happens. That's
- 5:05where the IU
- 5:06fishing actually
- 5:07happens.
- 5:08So the high seas
- 5:09fleets often
- 5:10operate far from
- 5:11national
- 5:11oversight. So
- 5:13satellite
- 5:13monitoring
- 5:13increases
- 5:14detection
- 5:14probability. They
- 5:15can go anywhere.
- 5:16Doesn't matter if
- 5:17they're out of
- 5:17the reach of a
- 5:18lot of the patrol
- 5:19boats. It doesn't
- 5:20matter if they're
- 5:20in areas that are
- 5:21fully remote.
- 5:22These are areas
- 5:23that can be
- 5:23accessible
- 5:24through satellite
- 5:26imagery. Now with
- 5:26satellite
- 5:27imagery, SARS can
- 5:28look through
- 5:28clouds,
- 5:28which is great.
- 5:29Other satellite
- 5:29imagery that's
- 5:30not SARS like
- 5:31this, not radar
- 5:31is something that
- 5:33you have to be
- 5:33concerned about
- 5:34because you'll
- 5:34get like, you
- 5:35know, clouds on a
- 5:35cloudy day. You
- 5:36know, these
- 5:37fishers might get
- 5:37a little smart. I don't know.
- 5:38But you know, you
- 5:39have to be
- 5:40careful with
- 5:40that. But with
- 5:41this radar
- 5:41detection, it
- 5:42actually helps.
- 5:43All right. The
- 5:44detection
- 5:44probably
- 5:44increases the
- 5:46deterrence,
- 5:47right? The fact
- 5:48that that fishers
- 5:49know that they
- 5:49can be detected
- 5:50by satellite,
- 5:51that actually
- 5:51probably helps
- 5:52with the turn. So
- 5:53deterrence will
- 5:53change the way
- 5:54people behave
- 5:55around MPAs,
- 5:57around
- 5:57productive sites.
- 5:59Now, global
- 5:59fishing watch as
- 6:00an example, shows
- 6:02that technology
- 6:03in action. So,
- 6:05you know, it
- 6:05provides open
- 6:06access maps of
- 6:07global fishing
- 6:08effort, which
- 6:08always helps.
- 6:09This data is used
- 6:10by journalists,
- 6:11scientists and
- 6:12governments, and
- 6:13it helps identify
- 6:14suspicious
- 6:14activity inside
- 6:16MPAs, especially
- 6:17when you have
- 6:17boats that are,
- 6:18you know,
- 6:19skirting around
- 6:19the boundaries.
- 6:20These boundaries
- 6:21are not visible
- 6:22when you're
- 6:23out at sea.
- 6:24You know, you
- 6:24know it from a
- 6:24GPS and they
- 6:25probably have the
- 6:26boundaries on
- 6:26their navigation
- 6:27maps, but you
- 6:28don't really see
- 6:28it on the ocean.
- 6:29So they can
- 6:29always say that
- 6:30they didn't know
- 6:30they were inside
- 6:31or out. But now
- 6:32with satellite,
- 6:32you can tell if
- 6:33they're inside
- 6:33now. And the fact
- 6:34that satellite
- 6:35imagery can come
- 6:36in faster than
- 6:37ever, you know,
- 6:38there's some
- 6:38sites back in the
- 6:39day, back in the
- 6:40day in the early
- 6:412000s, when I was
- 6:42using satellite,
- 6:43you had to wait
- 6:44like a day or you
- 6:45had to wake up.
- 6:45So it's very
- 6:46difficult for
- 6:46detection of
- 6:47illegal fishing.
- 6:48But once you
- 6:49actually are able
- 6:49to get it almost
- 6:50near real time,
- 6:51that actually
- 6:51helps. So it
- 6:52increases
- 6:53transparency for
- 6:55distant water
- 6:55fleets, right?
- 6:57This is that's
- 6:57what that's what
- 6:58it really it
- 6:58really does. In
- 7:00some regions,
- 7:00governments now
- 7:01use satellite
- 7:02alerts to trigger
- 7:03patrol
- 7:03deployment.
- 7:04So if someone's
- 7:05near a marine
- 7:05protected area,
- 7:07boom, it sends a
- 7:08trigger that
- 7:09trigger goes to
- 7:10the patrol unit.
- 7:11The patrol unit
- 7:11goes out to make
- 7:12sure that they
- 7:12can get there in
- 7:13time in case
- 7:14there's any
- 7:14illegal activity.
- 7:16So enforcement is
- 7:16actually becoming
- 7:17data driven,
- 7:18which for
- 7:18scientists, that
- 7:20is where it's at.
- 7:21Now, studies show
- 7:22that fishing
- 7:22effort often
- 7:23clusters just
- 7:24outside of MP
- 7:24boundaries. Like
- 7:25I mentioned,
- 7:26fishing the line
- 7:27is a common
- 7:27practice of
- 7:28fishing that
- 7:28boundary line.
- 7:30Some incursions
- 7:30occur inside
- 7:31weekly enforced
- 7:32MPAs. And then
- 7:33the satellite
- 7:34helps document
- 7:35these violations
- 7:35in well
- 7:36enforced MPAs.
- 7:37Visible vessel
- 7:38traffic inside
- 7:38boundaries is
- 7:39actually minimal
- 7:40because we know
- 7:41one satellites is
- 7:42monitoring these
- 7:43areas and the
- 7:43patrol boats can
- 7:44go out. So
- 7:45technology
- 7:45strengthens the
- 7:46accountability
- 7:47within MPAs. Now,
- 7:49of course,
- 7:49there's
- 7:49always gaps.
- 7:50When we talk
- 7:51about any kind of
- 7:52data driven
- 7:52technology. So
- 7:54the technology is
- 7:54not a silver
- 7:55bullet. So
- 7:56smaller vessels
- 7:57often do not
- 7:58carry a is so we
- 8:00get difficult to
- 8:01tell if there's a
- 8:01smaller vessel in
- 8:02there. Some
- 8:02vessels spoof
- 8:03location data.
- 8:04They're got,
- 8:05they're getting
- 8:05smart and we have
- 8:06to be smarter.
- 8:07And enforcement
- 8:08still requires
- 8:08legal authority
- 8:09and prosecution.
- 8:10So you still once
- 8:11you get
- 8:11enforcement, you
- 8:12can catch the
- 8:12people, but you
- 8:13have to bring
- 8:14them back and
- 8:14particular to
- 8:15court. And of
- 8:15course, sometimes
- 8:16like I know in
- 8:17Canada, a lot of
- 8:17times the
- 8:18punishment doesn't fit in.
- 8:19The punishment
- 8:19doesn't fit the
- 8:20crime. You know,
- 8:21so a lot of times
- 8:21they'll get off
- 8:22with a lot more,
- 8:23maybe a small
- 8:23fine and that
- 8:24might be worth
- 8:25getting, you
- 8:26know, a small
- 8:26fine as you know,
- 8:28if the payment is
- 8:30worth it.
- 8:30However, if you
- 8:32could get
- 8:33continued found,
- 8:34if you're
- 8:34continually found
- 8:35guilty in court,
- 8:36then maybe that
- 8:36will affect what
- 8:38you're going to
- 8:38do later on
- 8:39because the
- 8:39punishment is
- 8:39going to get
- 8:40stronger and
- 8:40stronger and
- 8:41stronger. Right.
- 8:42So many countries
- 8:43lack capacity to
- 8:45respond to
- 8:45satellite alerts.
- 8:46So that's a
- 8:46problem. You can
- 8:47detect as much as
- 8:48you want, but if
- 8:49you can't catch
- 8:49them, that's a
- 8:50difficulty. So
- 8:51technology
- 8:52creates
- 8:52visibility, but
- 8:53visibility must
- 8:54translate into
- 8:55action. We still
- 8:56need that
- 8:57enforcement like
- 8:57we talked about yesterday.
- 8:59Now, satellite
- 9:01monitoring shifts
- 9:02the balance of
- 9:02power back to the
- 9:04government, let's
- 9:05say, or the
- 9:06monitoring
- 9:06agencies. It
- 9:07reduces plausible
- 9:08deniability. It
- 9:09exposes
- 9:10inconsistencies
- 9:10between policy
- 9:12and practice. It
- 9:13allows NGOs and
- 9:14civil society to
- 9:15hold governments
- 9:16accountable.
- 9:18Ocean governments
- 9:18is becoming
- 9:19transparent, but
- 9:20transparency only
- 9:21matters if
- 9:21consequences
- 9:22follow, just like
- 9:23I
- 9:23mentioned before.
- 9:24Now, if you enjoy
- 9:25this type of
- 9:25evidence based
- 9:26ocean reporting
- 9:27that goes beyond
- 9:28the headlines,
- 9:29follow the show
- 9:30and hit that
- 9:30follow button and
- 9:32don't miss
- 9:32tomorrow's
- 9:33episode. Now
- 9:34let's just frame
- 9:35it up here and
- 9:36the final part.
- 9:37Now technology
- 9:38has changed the
- 9:39equation. We've
- 9:40gotten better for
- 9:41decades. The
- 9:42ocean was too
- 9:42vast to monitor.
- 9:43It was hard to be
- 9:44everywhere at
- 9:45once. Now it is
- 9:46visible. Illegal
- 9:47fishing leaves a
- 9:48digital trace
- 9:49boundary
- 9:50violations can be
- 9:51mapped effort can
- 9:53be quantified.
- 9:54The era of
- 9:55invisible
- 9:55exploitation is
- 9:56actually ending.
- 9:58But here is the critical point.
- 10:00Data does not
- 10:02enforce itself.
- 10:04Satellites can
- 10:04detect
- 10:04violations.
- 10:06Governments must
- 10:06still act and
- 10:08technology. It's
- 10:09just a tool.
- 10:10Enforcement is
- 10:11the actual
- 10:11decision and
- 10:12protection still
- 10:13depends on that political will.
- 10:14So I'd love to
- 10:17hear your
- 10:17thoughts on this
- 10:18episode on
- 10:19satellite
- 10:19detection. Have
- 10:20you been working
- 10:21with satellite
- 10:22imagery before?
- 10:23What is your
- 10:23experience? What
- 10:24have you done? If
- 10:25you were
- 10:25especially in the
- 10:26fisheries area?
- 10:27If you're just
- 10:27listening to this
- 10:28for the first
- 10:28time, love to
- 10:29hear your
- 10:29thoughts. Do you
- 10:29think this will
- 10:30work? If we'd
- 10:31like to hear more
- 10:31examples, we can
- 10:32talk about more
- 10:33examples, let me
- 10:34know how you feel
- 10:35by going to
- 10:35SpeakUpForBlue.com
- 10:37forward slash
- 10:38feedback that
- 10:39SpeakUpForBlue.com
- 10:41forward slash
- 10:41feedback. I would
- 10:42love to hear your
- 10:43thoughts. And of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
- 10:44of information
- 10:47about the ocean,
- 10:48hit that follow
- 10:49button and share
- 10:50it with a friend.
- 10:51The best way that
- 10:51we can get in
- 10:52front of more
- 10:52people and teach
- 10:53people more about
- 10:54the ocean and
- 10:55conservation
- 10:55that's hitting
- 10:56the ocean and the
- 10:56issues that are
- 10:57hitting the ocean
- 10:57is really to
- 10:58refer a friend.
- 10:59So refer this to
- 11:00a friend and you
- 11:01get brownie
- 11:01points from me.
- 11:02I want to thank
- 11:03you so much for
- 11:03joining me on
- 11:04today's episode
- 11:04of the How to
- 11:05Protect the Ocean
- 11:05podcast.
- 11:06I'm your host,
- 11:06Andrew Lewin.
- 11:07Have a great day.
- 11:08We'll talk to you
- 11:08next time and
- 11:09happy
- 11:09conservation.