Environmental groups World Wildlife Fund (WWF), TRAFFIC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced the launch of a new web tool designed to fight illegal fishing.
DETECT-IT, a new data analytics tool, is intended to help businesses, NGOs and customs, law enforcement and fisheries officials quickly search through fish trade data to identify potential illegally caught and traded fish products around the world.
Global estimates suggest that more than 30% of all fish caught globally is illegal and causes up to $36.4 billion in global losses each year. Illegal fishing contributes to ecosystem destruction, overfishing, threatens food security and has been linked to human rights violations, WWF noted.
In response, the tool identifies discrepancies in reported trade, in both farmed and wild-caught products, between countries and raises red flags that laundering or illegal trade may be occurring.
Previously, trade data had to be evaluated manually and the process to search for discrepancies was slow and laborious. Based on TRAFFIC’s initial idea and proof of concept, DETECT-IT speeds up this process, allowing millions of trade records to be searched in mere seconds.
“Illegal fishing is hugely destructive to ocean ecosystems, communities and economies,” said Michele Kuruc, WWF’s vice president of ocean policy. “DETECT-IT is a new weapon in the global fight against the criminals pillaging our seas for their own personal gain.”
