scholarly journals Using AIS to Attempt a Quantitative Evaluation of Unobserved Trawling Activity in the Mediterranean Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Ferrà ◽  
Anna Nora Tassetti ◽  
Enrico Nicola Armelloni ◽  
Alessandro Galdelli ◽  
Giuseppe Scarcella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Maritime Spatial Planning ◽  
Maritime Domain Awareness ◽  
Bottom Trawler

In the past decades, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) has been employed in numerous research fields as a valuable tool for, among other things, Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Spatial Planning. In contrast, its use in fisheries management is hampered by coverage and transmission gaps. Transmission gaps may be due to technical limitations (e.g., weak signal or interference with other signals) or to deliberate switching off of the system, to conceal fishing activities. In either case such gaps may result in underestimating fishing effort and pressure. This study was undertaken to map and analyze bottom trawler transmission gaps in terms of duration and distance from the harbor with a view to quantifying unobserved fishing and its effects on overall trawling pressure. Here we present the first map of bottom trawler AIS transmission gaps in the Mediterranean Sea and a revised estimate of fishing effort if some gaps are considered as actual fishing.

scholarly journals Defining high-resolution dredge fishing grounds with Automatic Identification System (AIS) data

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Le Guyader ◽  
Cyril Ray ◽  
Françoise Gourmelon ◽  
David Brosset
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Automatic Identification System ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Bay Of Brest ◽  
Maritime Spatial Planning

High resolution estimates of bottom towed fishing gears are needed to provide relevant information for natural resource management, impact assessment and maritime spatial planning. The use of satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS) data is constrained by data access restrictions as well as rather coarse data resolution. This study focuses on mapping dredge gear fishing grounds using fishing effort estimates at the métier level based on automatic identification system (AIS) data. The performance of the approach was evaluated in terms of correct discrimination between fishing and non-fishing activities for known fishing positions as well as appropriate error propagation. The test was conducted in the Bay of Brest (France) in partnership with a committee of local fishers. The results identified dredge fishing grounds for great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the western part of the Bay of Brest and provided high-resolution information for scientists and local decision makers on the spatial and temporal seasonal variability of fishing effort. The proposed method is semi-automatic and generic making it suitable for other applications.

scholarly journals AIS Politics: The Contested Use of Vessel Tracking at the EU’s Maritime Frontier

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Pezzani ◽  
Charles Heller
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Collision Avoidance ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Automatic Identification System ◽  
Vessel Tracking ◽  
Collision Avoidance System ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Do So

Automatic identification system (AIS) is a vessel tracking system, which since 2004 has become a global tool for the detection and analysis of seagoing traffic. In this article, we look at how this technology, initially designed as a collision avoidance system, has recently become involved in debates concerning migration across the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, after having briefly discussed its emergence and characteristics, we examine how through different practices of (re)appropriation AIS, and the data it generate, have been seized upon, both to contest and to sustain the exclusionary nature of borders, and the mass dying of migrants at sea to which it leads. We do so by referring to forms of data activism we have contributed to in the frame of our Forensic Oceanography project as well as to situations in which AIS has been mobilized by xenophobic groups to demand even stronger exclusionary measures. At the same time, we point to the multiplicity of actors who participate in the politics of migration through AIS in unexpected ways. We conclude by highlighting the irreducible ambivalence of practices of appropriation and call for persistent attention to one’s own positioning within the global datascape constituted by AIS and other data.

scholarly journals The global network of ports supporting high seas fishing

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. eabe3470
Author(s):  
Jorge P. Rodríguez ◽  
Juan Fernández-Gracia ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Xabier Irigoien ◽  
Víctor M. Eguíluz
Keyword(s):  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
The Commons ◽  
High Seas

Fisheries in waters beyond national jurisdiction (“high seas”) are difficult to monitor and manage. Their regulation for sustainability requires critical information on how fishing effort is distributed across fishing and landing areas, including possible border effects at the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) limits. We infer the global network linking harbors supporting fishing vessels to fishing areas in high seas from automatic identification system tracking data in 2014, observing a modular structure, with vessels departing from a given harbor fishing mostly in a single province. The top 16% of these harbors support 84% of fishing effort in high seas, with harbors in low- and middle-income countries ranked among the top supporters. Fishing effort concentrates along narrow strips attached to the boundaries of EEZs with productive fisheries, identifying a free-riding behavior that jeopardizes efforts by nations to sustainably manage their fisheries, perpetuating the tragedy of the commons affecting global fishery resources.

scholarly journals An updated overview of the geographic and bathymetric distribution of Savalia savaglia

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi. GIUSTI ◽  
C. CERRANO ◽  
M. ANGIOLILLO ◽  
L. TUNESI ◽  
S. CANESE
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
Protection Measure ◽  
The Past ◽  
Scuba Divers ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Recent Occurrence ◽  
Barcelona Convention

The distribution of gold coral Savalia savaglia is modified on the basis of bibliographic information and recent occurrence data, collected using a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and SCUBA divers. The species is long-lived, rare and has been exploited in the past by divers for collection purposes. S. savaglia is listed in Annex II of the SPA/BD Protocol of the Barcelona Convention and has a wider distribution than previously thought, including both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Our results highlighted that specimens mainly live at a depth range of 15-90 m, but may reach as deep as 900 m in the Mediterranean Sea. This species can form monospecific facies of hundreds of colonies, as observed in Montenegro (Adriatic Sea), between 10 and 20 m, and in the Canary Islands, at a depth range of 27-70 m. Recent data highlighted numerous cases of specimens that were endangered by lost fishing gear, which exposed this species to further threats. Considering its longevity and structural role, it is urgent to develop an effective protection measure for S. savaglia, thereby increasing research efforts and implementing protection areas for this species.

scholarly journals Sensing the Same Fishing Fleet with AIS and VIIRS: A Seven-Year Assessment of Squid Jiggers in FAO Major Fishing Area 41

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Javier Ruiz ◽  
Isabel Caballero ◽  
Gabriel Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Food And Agriculture Organization ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Fishing Area

Global Fishing Watch and VIIRS-DNB (visible infrared imaging radiometer suite day/night band) signals are compared for the jigger fleet in FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Major Fishing Area 41 during the maximum feasible time span (2012–2018). Both signals have shown a high degree of consistency at all temporal and spatial scales analyzed, including seasonal cycles, lack of signal for some years and interannual tendencies. This indicates that both signals are a fair representation of the fishing effort exerted by the jigger fleet in this zone. The high degree of consistency does not support views questioning satellite AIS (automatic identification system) as a reliable tool to survey fishing activities. Instead, our results add evidence supporting the value of remote sensing, in particular, when independent sources of information (such as VIIRS-DNB and AIS) are combined, as a relevant tool to add transparency and support compliance of fishing activities in vast and distant regions of the ocean.

Migration and ‘pull factor’ traps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenda Garelli ◽  
Martina Tazzioli
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Pull Factors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Knowledge ◽  
Political Outcomes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
History Books

Abstract This article engages with the centrality that the push–pull theory regained in the context of border deaths in the Mediterranean Sea and particularly as part of the debate against the criminalization of nongovernment organizations (NGOs’) rescue missions at sea. The article opens by illustrating the context in which the push–pull theory re-emerged—after having been part of migration studies’ history books for over a decade—as part of an effort to defend non-state actors engaged in rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea against an aggressive campaign of illegalilzation conducted by European states. We then take a step back to trace the history of the push–pull theory and its role as a foil for critical migration studies in the past 20 years. Building on this history, the article then turns to interrogating the epistemic and political outcomes that result from bringing evidence against the NGOs’ role as pull factors for migrants. The article closes by advocating for a transformative, rather than evidencing, role of critical knowledge in the current political context where migrants and actors who fight against border deaths are increasingly criminalized.

AIS Database Powered by GIS Technology for Maritime Safety and Security

2008 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziqiang Ou ◽  
Jianjun Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Management ◽  
Surveillance Program ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
Aerial Surveillance ◽  
Maritime Traffic ◽  
Land Control ◽  
Maritime Domain Awareness ◽  
Fundamental Requirement

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an efficient tool to exchange positioning data among participating naval units and land control centres. It was developed primarily as an advanced tool for assistance to sailors during navigation and for the safety of the life at sea. Maritime security has become a major concern for all coastal nations, especially after September 11, 2001. The fundamental requirement is maritime domain awareness via identification, tracking and monitoring of vessels within their waters and this is exactly what an AIS could bring. This paper will be focused on how the AIS-derived information could be used for coastal security, maritime traffic management, vessel tracking and monitoring with the help of GIS technology. The AIS data used in this paper was collected by the Canadian national aerial surveillance program.

scholarly journals Lockdown: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected the Fishing Activities in the Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea)

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Russo ◽  
Marco Anelli Monti ◽  
Giacomo Toninato ◽  
Claudio Silvestri ◽  
Alessandra Raffaetà ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Venice Lagoon ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Otter Trawl ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Strong Reduction ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
Almost All

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought a global socio-economic crisis to almost all sectors including the fishery. To limit the infection, governments adopted several containment measures. In Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia, a lockdown period was imposed from March to May 2020, during which many activities, including restaurants had to close or limit their business. All of this caused a strong reduction in seafood requests and consequently, a decrease in fishing activities. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 in the Northern and Central Adriatic fleet, by comparing the fishing activities in three periods (before, during, and after the lockdown) of 2019 and 2020. The use of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data allowed us to highlight the redistribution of the fishing grounds of the trawlers, mainly located near the coasts during the 2020 lockdown period, as well as a reduction of about 50% of fishing effort. This reduction resulted higher for the Chioggia trawlers (−80%) and, in terms of fishing effort decrease, the large bottom otter trawl was the fishing segment mainly affected by the COVID-19 event. Moreover, by analysing the landings of the Chioggia fleet and the Venice lagoon fleets, it was possible to point out a strong reduction both in landings and profits ranging from −30%, for the small-scale fishery operating at sea, to −85%, for the small bottom otter trawl.

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