'Project Eyes' tackles pirate fishing with satellites and algorithms
Illegal fishing causes permanent environmental destruction and economic losses of up to $23 billion a year, largely because vast swaths of ocean go unpatrolled. But UK scientists are fighting back with Project Eyes on the Seas, a joint operation from from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the UK Satellite Applications Catapult. Unlike Google's Global Fishing Watch, the new effort won't just rely on data from ships' on-board transponders. It'll also use satellite radar, which can spot larger vessels even if their transponders are turned off or "spoofed."
All the data will be analyzed by the Project Eyes' algorithms, which will look for unusual ship movements and compare them to sea conditions and estimated fishing spots. For instance, if two vessels come together at a certain speed, the system will guess that they're exchanging catch, a common method to avoid getting caught. Once suspicious activity is found, the system will alert the watch room in Oxfordshire, UK, which will in turn notify local enforcement.
The goal is to eventually "transform the current very expensive and patchy system... into a (far more cost effective) global system," according to the group. Project Eyes will be launched in the seas around Chile, Palaus and the UK Overseas Territories to start, and expand to more countries and regional fishery programs over the next few years. However, the key immediate goal is no less than to "safeguard some of the planet's last remaining near-pristine marine habitats."
[Image credit: Getty Images]
