Global Fishing Watch map
Vessel tracking software
Marine software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Global Fishing Watch map
Global Fishing Watch map is a web-based vessel activity and tracking map focused on commercial fishing and related maritime activity. It is used by governments, researchers, NGOs, journalists, and compliance teams to visualize vessel movements and inferred fishing effort over time. The map combines AIS-based vessel tracking with analytical layers (for example, fishing activity classification and management-area overlays) and provides data access options for analysis and reporting.
Fishing-activity analytics layers
The map goes beyond plotting AIS positions by providing inferred fishing activity and effort visualizations derived from vessel movement patterns. This supports use cases such as monitoring fishing pressure, identifying patterns near boundaries, and conducting retrospective analysis. In this segment, many tools emphasize general vessel location and port calls, while this product is oriented toward fishing-specific interpretation.
Public, web-based access
The map is accessible via a browser without requiring specialized onboard hardware or a proprietary client application. This lowers barriers for cross-organization collaboration and for stakeholders who need situational awareness rather than fleet operations tooling. It also supports sharing views and communicating findings using a common interface.
Contextual governance overlays
The product includes contextual layers commonly needed for fisheries and ocean governance work, such as marine protected areas and other jurisdictional or management boundaries (availability depends on the layer set in use). These overlays help users interpret vessel behavior relative to regulated zones and policy-relevant geographies. This reduces the need to manually assemble GIS layers in separate tools for many monitoring workflows.
AIS-dependent visibility gaps
Coverage depends heavily on AIS transmissions and the availability/quality of terrestrial and satellite AIS reception. Vessels that do not carry AIS, turn it off, spoof it, or operate in low-reception areas can be missing or misrepresented. As a result, the map may not provide complete visibility for enforcement-grade tracking on its own.
Not fleet-operations software
The map is designed primarily for transparency, research, and monitoring rather than day-to-day fleet dispatch, onboard integration, or operational voyage management. Users looking for features such as detailed ETA workflows, chartering/logistics functions, or deep integration with vessel control/maintenance systems may need additional software. Operational tooling in this space often includes functions that are outside the scope of this product.
Methodology and classification limits
Inferred fishing activity is model-based and can produce false positives/negatives depending on gear type, behavior, and data quality. Interpretation typically requires domain expertise and may need corroboration with other sources (for example, VMS, observer data, or port records) for compliance actions. This can limit suitability where deterministic, auditable tracking is required.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Public Map (web) | Free ($0) — permanently free | Open-access interactive map for visualization and analysis of vessel activity (2012–present). Search vessels, filter by flag/date, download reports, upload overlays, save/share workspaces. Free registration provides full access. |
| Marine Manager | Free ($0) — permanently free | Portal for marine spatial planning and MPA management with environmental layers and analysis; available to anyone online. |
| APIs — Non-commercial use | Free ($0) — permanently free | Programmatic access to datasets (apparent fishing effort, events, vessel info) for non-commercial/research/NGO/government uses. |
| APIs — Commercial use | Custom pricing / Not publicly listed | Global Fishing Watch does not publish commercial licensing/pricing terms. Commercial use requires a custom license; contact Global Fishing Watch to discuss. |
Seller details
Global Fishing Watch
Washington, DC, United States
2015
Non-profit
https://globalfishingwatch.org/
https://x.com/GlobalFishWatch
https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-fishing-watch/
