ORBCOMM Inc., a global provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, today announced that Global Fishing Watch has extended their contract for another three years for ORBCOMM’s satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. Global Fishing Watch is an independent, international non-profit organization originally set up through collaboration by Oceana, Google and SkyTruth to advance ocean sustainability through greater transparency in global fishing activity.
ORBCOMM provides Global Fishing Watch with tens of millions of AIS data points every day that show the movement of the world’s largest commercial vessels over time. By leveraging ORBCOMM’s AIS service, Global Fishing Watch can classify these time-stamped positional vessel data points as either “fishing” or “non-fishing” activities, enabling anyone in the world to have free access to a near real-time and/or historical global view of fishing activity. This robust platform significantly increases the commercial fishing industry’s accountability by aiding efforts by authorities to monitor vessel compliance and identify unauthorized activity requiring further investigation. It also provides a tool to governments, non-government organizations and researchers to enhance maritime surveillance, inform effective decision-making on fisheries and accelerate scientific research to protect our ocean. ORBCOMM was the original provider of global AIS data for Global Fishing Watch when it was first established in 2016.
“We are pleased that Global Fishing Watch has extended our contract for another three years so we can continue to help them revolutionize how the maritime industry monitors and manages global commercial fishing activities by leveraging our world-class AIS data,” said Greg Flessate, ORBCOMM’s Senior Vice President of AIS and Government. “We commend Global Fishing Watch’s efforts to support ocean resource conservation and look forward to expanding our long and successful partnership.”
“ORBCOMM’s comprehensive AIS service is an integral part of our ability to deliver an accurate picture of commercial fishing across the globe to help improve fisheries management and protect critical marine habitats,” said Paul Woods, Head of Innovation for Global Fishing Watch. “With ORBCOMM’s cutting-edge AIS technology, we can create and share valuable insights, including which vessels are fishing boats, the type of fishing gear they are using and when and where they are fishing based on their movement patterns, to radically improve transparency and create a sustainable future for our oceans.”
ORBCOMM’s AIS service provides the most comprehensive and reliable global coverage, processing over 35 million messages from well over 250,000 unique vessels per day through a combination of satellite and terrestrial AIS data for marquee government and commercial customers worldwide.