Peru made its national vessel tracking data publicly available for the first time through Global Fishing Watch (GFW). At least 1,300 of Peru’s industrial fishing vessels are now visible on the public map.
For Peru that is a ten-times increase in the number of vessels that are now publicly trackable via GFW, which will help national monitoring and control efforts, including combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Peru will also be using night-time imagery data to show brightly lit fishing vessels operating at night.
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Peru is the world’s second largest fishing nation after China and accommodates the world’s largest single stock fisheries – the anchoveta.
Peru’s efforts come after Canada’s formal statement of support for the work of GFW at the G7 ministerial meeting in Halifax earlier in October, and their commitment to enhance data sharing, science and invest up to $11.6 million to combat IUU fishing.
Indonesia was the first country to make its vessel tracking data available via GFW in 2017, putting 5,000 smaller fishing vessels that do not use AIS on the GFW map. Peru is now the second nation to share its vessel tracking data via GFW.
GFW uses publicly broadcast AIS data to monitor fishing vessel movements. While AIS is needed for the largest vessels that catch a disproportionately large amount of fish, adding Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data, which is required by many governments.
Tony Long, CEO, Global Fishing Watch, commented:
Transparency is crucial for good stewardship of our global ocean – to fight illegal fishing, to protect fish stocks and livelihoods, and to increase the safety and well-being of fishers.
