Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea

Fernando S. Paolo (), David Kroodsma, Jennifer Raynor, Tim Hochberg, Pete Davis, Jesse Cleary, Luca Marsaglia, Sara Orofino, Christian Thomas and Patrick Halpin
Additional contact information
Fernando S. Paolo: Global Fishing Watch
David Kroodsma: Global Fishing Watch
Jennifer Raynor: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Tim Hochberg: Global Fishing Watch
Pete Davis: Global Fishing Watch
Jesse Cleary: Duke University
Luca Marsaglia: Global Fishing Watch
Sara Orofino: University of California, Santa Barbara
Christian Thomas: SkyTruth
Patrick Halpin: Duke University

Nature, 2024, vol. 625, issue 7993, 85-91

Abstract: Abstract The world’s population increasingly relies on the ocean for food, energy production and global trade1–3, yet human activities at sea are not well quantified4,5. We combine satellite imagery, vessel GPS data and deep-learning models to map industrial vessel activities and offshore energy infrastructure across the world’s coastal waters from 2017 to 2021. We find that 72–76% of the world’s industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, with much of that fishing taking place around South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. We also find that 21–30% of transport and energy vessel activity is missing from public tracking systems. Globally, fishing decreased by 12 ± 1% at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. By contrast, transport and energy vessel activities were relatively unaffected during the same period. Offshore wind is growing rapidly, with most wind turbines confined to small areas of the ocean but surpassing the number of oil structures in 2021. Our map of ocean industrialization reveals changes in some of the most extensive and economically important human activities at sea.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8

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