In two separate studies leveraging satellite imagery and artificial intelligence techniques, researchers reveal patterns of industrial fishing in coastal marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide. Collectively, the findings, which may seem contradictory, show that although industrial fishing vessels are present in many protected areas worldwide, MPAs with the highest levels of protection remain largely unfished. Both studies suggest that proper investment in protected areas will pay off and that synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology could be one of the key tools used to safeguard the ocean’s future sustainability. Roughly 8% of the global ocean is formally protected, with ambitious international targets aiming to more than triple that coverage by 2030. While such protections can yield substantial long-term benefits, especially when paired with adequate fisheries management, potential gains are often compromised by inadequate regulations. In many cases, destructive, illegal, or unreported fishing practices persist even within designated protected areas due to insufficient safeguards. Global-scale monitoring of industrial fishing, including within MPAs, has been aided by the emergence of automatic identification system (AIS) data, which tracks the activity of individual vessels. However, not all vessels are required to use it. Many disable their transponders to avoid detection, making it difficult to obtain reliable, large-scale estimates of fishing pressure within MPAs. As a result, the true effectiveness of MPAs worldwide remains poorly understood.

 

In one study, Jennifer Raynor and colleagues analyzed 455 coastal MPAs classified as “fully” or “highly” protected under the MPA guide, an assessment framework that evaluates protections based on both regulations and management practices. These categories fully ban industrial fishing within their bounds. Raynor et al. combined AI methods with a recently published global SAR satellite imagery dataset to directly identify industrial fishing vessels operating within MPAs, regardless of whether their AIS is active. The authors found that, overall, very little unauthorized industrial fishing activity occurs in MPAs that prohibit it, averaging just one vessel detected per 20,000 square kilometers – a rate 9 times lower than in unprotected exclusive economic zones. Although a few MPAs in East and South Asia showed higher vessel densities, these cases were outliers driven by small geographic areas and sporadic detections. Only seven MPAs worldwide had vessels present on more than half of observed days, highlighting how rare such activity is in strongly protected areas. Raynor et al. also demonstrate SAR imagery’s reliability in detecting unauthorized fishing vessels. Not only did the method successfully identify AIS-broadcasting vessels with high accuracy, it also detected vessels in 163 MPAs where AIS data showed none, particularly in regions like Southeast Asia, where AIS is often incomplete.

 

In another study, Raphael Seguin and colleagues quantified fishing activities across a larger group of 6021 coastal MPAs representing a wide range of protective categories as outlined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management framework. Using the same SAR dataset and deep learning models, Sequin et al. discovered that nearly half of the MPAs evaluated showed evidence of industrial fishing at levels in many cases matching or exceeding those in nearby unprotected waters. According to the findings, industrial fishing vessels were detected in 47% of the world’s coastal MPAs. While stricter IUCN categories did correlate with reduced fishing, the authors concluded that factors such as MPA size and remoteness were more predictive of fishing presence than official protection category alone. In a Perspective, Boris Worm discusses the possible drivers underlying the differences in the two studies’ findings. “Many MPAs have been established quickly without strong protective regulations, meaningful consultation with local stakeholders, or appropriate management capacity. In some cases, this has resulted in “paper parks” that are recognized as protected areas but do not prevent harmful activities,” writes Worm. “Yet the available data show that where proper investments are made, industrial exploitation is curtailed, and protective measures are comprehensive, long-term benefits will accrue.”

 

Data is available for the production of data visualizations. For more information, please contact Raphael Seguin at raphaelseguin@protonmail.com

Researchers led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Jennifer Raynor showed that artificial intelligence methods applied to satellite data provide a powerful new way to assess industrial fishing activity in MPAs, bridging blind spots in current monitoring methods. The first-of-its-kind study, published in the journal Science, found that the world’s most strongly protected MPAs had little-to-no industrial fishing activity.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has prototyped a Hydrogen Small Unit Power (H-SUP) system to reduce detectability and improve readiness of Marine Corps in expeditionary warfare operations.

Researchers from Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have discovered a deep-sea limpet species 6 km beneath the northwestern Pacific Ocean, the deepest known habitat for any true limpet, naming it after the character “Large Monk” Wadatsumi, from the manga series ONE PIECE.

A first-of-its-kind experiment tracing evolution across 25 generations shows that tiny crustaceans at the heart of the ocean food web rely on a largely unknown biological toolkit to survive the stresses of climate change. The study reveals that it’s not only genetic changes that help these animals adapt to warming and acidifying ocean conditions. In addition, little-known epigenetic changes play a crucial role too. Remarkably, the researchers led by Melissa Pespeni at the University of Vermont discovered that the two mechanisms operate independently offering a two-pronged strategy for resilience. Until now, few studies have tracked genetic and epigenetic changes in tandem over many generations. This experiment is one of the first to do so in a long-term, replicated evolution study—offering some of the strongest evidence yet that epigenetic change can help populations survive and perhaps allow future genetic adaptation. Which means that copepods may be tougher under the stresses of a warming ocean than scientists previously would have predicted. And that could be good news for the fish species who eat copepods as primary prey—and many other creatures.

A study led by Associate Professor Kelton McMahon at University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has found that food webs on tropical reefs are more fragile than we once thought. Instead of being part of a highly connected system where species can easily switch food sources, many reef creatures in these incredibly biodiverse ecosystems rely on surprisingly narrow, specialized energy pathways that link specific species to distinct sources of primary production.

Ben Kirtman, a renowned atmospheric scientist who raised the bar in the study of climate predictability, has been named the new dean of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.

A world-first study led by Museums Victoria Research Institute has revealed that beneath the cold, dark, pressurised world of the deep sea, marine life is far more globally connected than previously imagined. 

Inspired by a hitchhiking fish that uses a specialized suction organ to latch onto other marine animals, MIT engineers designed a mechanical adhesive device that attaches to soft, slippery surfaces and remains there for days or weeks. The device could be used to deliver drugs in the GI tract or monitor aquatic environments.

Biologging is transforming wildlife research, yet stingrays have been overlooked due to their unusual body shapes. For the first time, researchers successfully developed and field-tested a biologging tag for the whitespotted eagle ray. The multi-sensor device stayed attached for up to a record 60 hours, revealing how they feed, move and interact with other species. Virtually impossible to capture before, these insights now shed light into this threatened, understudied species that plays a vital role in marine ecosystems.