A new collaboration by three data-driven campaign groups aims to give lower-income coastal states better access to fisheries intelligence, data analysis, and capacity-building assistance in the battle against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The collaboration was founded by the USAID-funded International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Network; Global Fishing Watch; a partnership between Google and the advocacy groups Oceana and SkyTruth; and TMT, a nonprofit known for its detailed database of IUU-related vessels and operators. Dubbed the Joint Analytical Cell (JAC), the project aims to harness innovative technology and fisheries expertise to increase data sharing and collaboration among governments and non-state actors in the fight against IUU.
The JAC will be a game-changer, as lower-income nations have struggled to battle illegal fishing in part due to a lack of access to technology and information systems, according to International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Network Executive Director Mark Young. Fishery management authorities “have traditionally relied on proprietary monitoring systems that have limited information sharing and are not available to all states,” Young said.