The Deep View: Island of Ireland and our Atlantic Ocean. This could be good news for us. “AI exposes ocean’s illegal fishing networks”

Posted on July 25, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
AI exposes ocean’s hidden illegal fishing networks
The ocean just got a lot smaller for illegal fishing operations.
A new study published in Science reveals how AI paired with satellite radar imagery is exposing fishing activity that traditional tracking systems miss entirely. The findings show that 78.5% of marine protected areas worldwide are actually working, with zero commercial fishing detected.
The fascinating part is that ships are supposed to broadcast their locations through GPS transponders monitored by Automatic Identification Systems, but those systems have massive blind spots, especially when vessels intentionally go dark.
AI algorithms from Global Fishing Watch analyzed radar images from European Space Agency satellites to detect vessels over 15 meters long, even with tracking disabled. The results were striking.
82% of protected areas had less than 24 hours of illegal fishing annuallyTraditional AIS tracking missed 90% of illegal activity in problem zonesThe Chagos Marine Reserve, South Georgia and the Great Barrier Reef each recorded about 900 hours of illegal fishing per year
“The ocean is no longer too big to watch,” said Juan Mayorga, scientist at National Geographic Pristine Seas.
For decades, marine protected areas existed mostly on paper. Governments could designate vast ocean territories as off-limits, but actually monitoring compliance across millions of square miles remained impossible.
This study changes that equation. When 90% of illegal activity was previously invisible to traditional tracking, the deterrent effect of protection laws was essentially zero. Now that satellites can detect dark vessels in real-time, the cost-benefit calculation for illegal fishing operations shifts dramatically. You can’t hide a 15-meter fishing vessel from radar, even in the middle of the Pacific.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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