The US can support legal and ethical fishing with transparency

This month we celebrate World Oceans Month and the International Day for the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a day that shines a spotlight on combating illicit activities that often occur unnoticed beyond the horizon. The United States should be a global leader in this fight.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a low-risk, high-reward activity that includes fishing without authorization, ignoring catch limits, operating in closed areas, targeting protected wildlife and fishing with prohibited gear. Such fishing can also be associated with forced labor and other human rights abuses.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs the worldwide economy $26 billion to $50 billion annually, and the United States alone imported $2.4 billion in unauthorized seafood in 2019. It’s clear that more needs to be done to prevent Americans from purchasing seafood sourced from criminal activities at sea. Improving our ability to monitor global fishing activity is an immediate way we can increase safety at sea, support honest fishers, and combat bad actors.  

Each year, more than 19,000 U.S. commercial fishing vessels leave their safe harbor to catch fish or harvest seafood to feed their families and yours. Fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S., with fishers 20 to 30 percent more likely to experience a workplace fatality than other occupations. One way to ensure the safety of U.S. fishers is to require the use of automatic identification system (AIS) devices, much like requiring the use of seatbelts in automobiles.

Public tracking systems for vessels — called AIS — were originally developed to avoid collisions between vessels. AIS devices share information like the vessel’s location, name, and the country where it is registered. This data allows vessels to “see” each other and is critical to reducing hazards at sea.

In recent years, many maritime accidents may have been prevented if AIS devices had been used properly. Some examples include the separate collisions involving the U.S. destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, and the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad. Each of these warships were unsafely sailing at night or in heavy traffic with their AIS devices either disabled or not actively transmitting, making them nearly invisible to other vessels in the area. Just the collisions involving the Fitzgerald and McCain resulted in the deaths of 17 U.S. sailors and over $500 million damages.

AIS devices now have a secondary role thanks to an advance in big data analytics. Organizations such as Global Fishing Watch harness AIS data that fishing vessels broadcast and use complex algorithms to show the public, marine managers, and enforcement agencies where fishing is occurring around the world. Maritime authorities like the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy monitor our waters and defend against illegal fishing, which has been described by former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus as an “invisible” threat to our national security. Using AIS transmissions can help pinpoint areas for targeted patrols and enforcement to stop illegal fishing activities. By expanding AIS requirements, governments and fisheries managers can better monitor vessel activity at sea. 

AIS has a proven ability to expose bad actors at sea by shining a light on suspicious behaviors and discouraging activity like illegal fishing and human rights abuses. Despite this proven value, only 12 percent of U.S. fishing vessels, or those greater than 65 feet, are required to carry AIS devices. Those vessels are also only required to transmit AIS within 12 nautical miles from shore.

The United States should broaden these requirements to help combat illicit fishing. The European Union is a leader in transparent fisheries and requires the majority of its commercial fishing vessels — 49 feet or longer — to carry more powerful AIS devices and continually broadcast signals when at sea. In the United States, AIS requirements should be expanded to all vessels 49 feet or longer and mandated for the entire duration of their trip. By embracing transparency in domestic fisheries, the United States can demand more transparency globally and enhance our suite of tools to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The United States should be the leader in fisheries transparency, not lagging behind. And American voters agree that the tracking of vessels has many advantages: 77 percent of U.S. voters sampled in a poll commissioned by Oceana support expanding the requirements for all fishing vessels to be publicly trackable. With bipartisan interest to increase vessel transparency, the United States must lead the way in maritime security by making our oceans transparent and increasing the number of vessels required to broadcast AIS for their entire time at sea.

Marla “Max” Valentine, Ph.D., is a marine biologist and the illegal fishing and transparency campaign manager at Oceana.