Seaport in Lima, Peru. Photo: Shutterstock.

The Peruvian government has made a commitment to make its national vessel tracking data publicly available through Global Fishing Watch, which provides a global view of commercial fishing activity. The commitment, which Peru’s Ministry of Production announced at The Ocean Conference hosted by the United Nations in New York City, is the result of Oceana’s collaboration with the Peruvian government to increase transparency of commercial fishing in Peru’s waters.

“Peru has committed to join Global Fishing Watch as a demonstration of transparency,” said Hector Soldi, vice minister of fisheries and aquaculture for Peru’s Ministry of Production. “This technology platform, based on satellite data from fishing vessels to create a global vision of commercial fishing, enables anyone to follow fishing activity anywhere on the oceans. This is another demonstration of the Peruvian government’s commitment to fight illegal activities at sea and promote the sustainable use of the extraordinary marine productivity on our coastline.”

Global Fishing Watch uses public broadcast data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), collected by satellite and terrestrial receivers, to show the movement of vessels over time. Global Fishing Watch uses this information to track vessel movement and classify it as “fishing” or “non-fishing” activity. While AIS is required for the largest vessels that catch a disproportionately large amount of fish, adding Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data, which is required by some governments, to the Global Fishing Watch platform will provide the world with a clearer view of fishing activity at sea, according to the organization.