GOOGLE HELPS FIGHT ILLEGAL FISHING IN INDONESIA

Indonesia’s Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has teamed up with Google to catch illegal fishing activity in real time. By using satellites and software capabilities, Google has successfully detected pirate boats located just outside of permitted fishing areas. These “global pirates” make use of Indonesian companies, while fishing beyond permitted areas, shipping their catch to foreign destinations.

In 2016, Google co-founded Global Fishing Watch, an online mapping platform. Indonesia became the pioneer nation to share its Vessel Monitoring

System information – government-owned data used to monitor maritime traffic – with Global

Fishing Watch, and they have since located more than 5,000 boats that were previously invisible to local detection systems.

Thanks to this partnership, Indonesia’s fish stocks have more than doubled in two years, with foreign fishing in Indonesia dropping by more than 90 percent. Vessels seized by the Indonesian Navy are sunk to prevent further use – ironically, these boats then become artificial reefs that aid in the growth of the local marine species.

LEFT The yellow area represents the fishing vessels found in Indonesia’s waters