{{Infobox organization | name = Global Fishing Watch Inc | formation = Tax-exempt since {{Start date and age|2017|7}} | headquarters = [[Washington, D.C.]] | website = {{URL|globalfishingwatch.org}} | founder = [[Oceana (conservation organization)|Oceana]], [[SkyTruth]] and [[Google]] | type = [[501(c)(3)]] | revenue = 69,478,777 [[USD]] | revenue_year = 2023 | expenses = 13,167,862 [[USD]] | expenses_year = 2023 | footnotes = <ref>{{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|815461345}}</ref> }} [[File:Secretary Kerry Heads to the Stage to Deliver Remarks at the Global Fishing Watch Preview Reception at the Long View Gallery in Washington (29661895376).jpg|thumb|Secretary Kerry Heads to the stage to deliver remarks at the Global Fishing Watch Preview Reception at the Long View Gallery in Washington. (29661895376)]]
'''''Global Fishing Watch''''' is an independent, international nonprofit organization. It started by a website launched in September 2016 by Google in partnership with [[Oceana (non-profit group)|Oceana]] and [[SkyTruth]] "to provide the world’s first global view of [[commercial fishing]] activities." At any moment, 200,000 vessels are publicizing their locations via the [[Automatic Identification System]] (AIS).<ref>[http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/global-fishing-watch-google/ Google Launches Global Fishing Watch]—''[[Digital Trends]]'' (September 16, 2016)</ref>
Global Fishing Watch enables users with Internet access to monitor fishing activity globally, and to view "individual vessel tracks, [[exclusive economic zone]]s, [[marine protected area]]s, and other features."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Urbina|first=Ian|date=11 August 2020|title=The deadly secret of China's invisible armada|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/china-illegal-fishing-fleet/index.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=NBC News}}</ref> It is hoped that the initiative can help to reduce "global [[overfishing]], [[illegal fishing]] and [[habitat destruction]]."<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-sharpless/oceana-unveils-global-fis_b_12030462.html Oceana Unveils Global Fishing Watch]—''[[Huffington Post]]'' (September 15, 2016)</ref>
The technology was made publicly available at the 2016 US State Department's ''Our Oceans Conference'' in Washington, DC. The project was partly financed by the [[Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation]]<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-16/illegal-fishing-watch-site-crowdsourced-solution-overfishing/7851064 Illegal fishing targeted by crowdsourcing thanks to new Global Fishing Watch website]—[[ABC News (Australia)|''ABC News'' (Australia)]] (September 15, 2016)</ref> and the [[Bertarelli Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Fishing Watch Marine Manager |url=https://oceandecade.org/actions/global-fishing-watch/ |website=oceandecade.org|date=3 June 2022 }}</ref> In June 2017, almost a year after being officially launched at the ''Our Ocean Conference'', Global Fishing Watch was established as an independent, international nonprofit organization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Fishing Watch About Us|url=https://globalfishingwatch.org/about-us/ |website=globalfishingwatch.org|date=27 March 2024}}</ref>
In March 2019, Global Fishing Watch helped convince the Panamian authorities to release [[Vessel Monitoring System]] data on Panamian ships. This has helped them track Panamian-flagged ships, leading to the apprehension of the MV NIKA for illegal fishing by the Indonesian coastguard in July 2019.<ref name="heffernan">{{cite book | last=Heffernan | first=Olive | title=The High Seas | publisher=Greystone Books | publication-place=Vancouver Berkeley London | date=2024-05-21 | isbn=978-1-77164-588-1 | page=}}</ref> Other countries such as Chile have then followed suit.
==See also== *[[Overfishing]] *[[Fish migration]] *[[Fish farming]] *[[MarineTraffic]], an open website providing information and tracking of shipping vessels at real-time
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://globalfishingwatch.org/ Global Fishing Watch]
[[Category:2016 in the environment]] [[Category:Environmental impact of fishing]] [[Category:American environmental websites]] [[Category:Fishing and the environment]] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2016]] [[Category:Environmental monitoring]] [[Category:Fisheries databases]]