TrackIUU

Project "TrackIUU" data sheet

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 Partnership

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 Project objective

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major issue affecting the sustainability of the ocean’s resources: over 19% of the global catches can be attributed to IUU fishing. Though international fishing conventions require that fishing vessels operating in the high seas are registered and have monitoring systems, even the latest solutions for the implementation of these measures, e.g. vessel monitoring systems (VMS), are quite limited: VMSs use GPS positioning to capture data from equipment installed on fishing vessels, but it is the operator who needs to monitor the movement of thousands of vessels on a map and spot irregular behaviors. Moreover, this needs to be confirmed by closer surveillance via boat or plane, making these systems extremely resource and effort intensive. With over 22,000 registered vessels which need to be monitored in the EU, a better solution for identifying and responding to IUU fishing is demanded. Our company, Trackwell (Island), provides our clients with tools to manage their resources, including maritime surveillance, an area in which we have been working for the past 20 years. Our latest development, TrackIUU, is a unique stand-alone application with advanced functionalities: it integrates and assesses new data streams in real-time to calculate an IUU risk indicator for each vessel being monitored and alert operators to high-risk situations. This will greatly increase the efficiency of operators to identify illegal activities of fishing vessels and target them in surveillance and sighting reports. Greater detail in real-time data combined with historical data will help provide the necessary evidence for authorities to prosecute vessels in non-compliance with fishing regulations. By helping reduce IUU fishing activities, TrackIUU will contribute to the conservation of our ocean’s fish stocks, the protection of a fair fisheries industry in Europe and its long-term economic viability.