IAP-24-063

Bridging the divide between distant water fleets and coastal communities in the biggest unregulated fishery in the world

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing accounts for ~26 million tons of fish catch worldwide (1 in every 5 wild fish caught) and is a major contributor to the decline of fish stocks globally [1]. The United Nations has declared this “one of the most severe problems affecting world fisheries,” and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have implemented a Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU. In fact, IUU is an explicit indicator under Sustainable Development Goal 14.

The Jumbo flying squid (JFS) represents the largest invertebrate fishery in the world, with more than a million tons landed annually (1 in every 100 kilos of seafood is JFS) [2]. JFS are targeted by both large industrial vessels that operate worldwide in areas beyond national jurisdiction (called distant Water fleets – DWF), and artisanal vessels from coastal states such as Chile and Peru. While Peru’s artisanal fleet fish within 50 nautical miles of the coast and conduct short trips, industrial fishing vessels can remain at sea for up to 3 years and operate over far greater (unrestricted) spatial scales meaning they can ‘better’ exploit the squid fish stock. This ability to remain at sea and move with little restriction has been associated with increases in IUU fishing and cases of forced labour.

Distant water fleets from China now dominate this important fishery (104 vessels in 2010 to 522 in 2023), while the Peruvian fleet accounts for 4600 small artisanal vessels. This effort translates to an estimated 50% vs 50% of squid catch, respectively. Concerns over excessive fishing and overexploitation was first raised in 2024 [2,3] where a drastic decline in Peruvian artisanal landings was observed leading to a profound effect on local livelihoods and fishing behaviour. Moreover, the price of squid, the most important and affordable source of protein in Peru, increased three-fold prompting national concern. This coincided with increased sightings of Chinese vessels operating in coastal waters, further exacerbating the crisis, where foreign vessels were blamed for overexploiting a national resource and threatening food sovereignty and security.

The International Maritime Organisation mandates that industrial vessels broadcast their location in real time using anti-collision devices (AIS). However, AIS can be turned off, and tracks that stop just before entering coastal waters have been reported [4]. Innovative methods linking (partial) AIS movement tracks and time-stamped satellite imagery have been developed quantify the number of vessels operating both legally (validated AIS tracks) and illegally (vessel presence with no tracking information) [5, 6], and this offers an innovative solution for quantifying the degree of illegal fishing in this important fishery. This project is a direct response to stakeholders from coastal countries publicly demanding more transparency and proactivity around Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in sovereign coastal waters.

Specifically, the goal is to quantify the amount and impact of the rapid increase in distant water fishing on coastal communities and the Jumbo flying squid they rely so heavily on. It will focus on i) the development of innovative methods including AI computer vision to combine vessel tracking data and satellite imagery to detect potential illegal fishing activities inside coastal countries jurisdictions, ii) the development of proxies to quantify potential illegal fishing pressure; and iii) evaluating the socio-economic impact of the significant reduction in squid availability in 2024 and the local, national, and global implications.

Objective 1: This project will develop innovative new tools to detect and track illegal fishing activites. These methods will be based on the collation of partial Automated Identification System (AIS) data reported by marine-going vessels to track location and type of vessel. This data will be supplemented using high-resolution satellite imagery (RGB – PlanetScope and Sentinel; and SAR – Sentinel 1; night light emissions – VIIRS) to map vessel location through time across.

Correlation with AIS data will allow the determination of vessel type. This dataset can then be used to define and collate a labelled training dataset for use with novel machine learning tools such as convolutional neural networks (e.g. YOLO v5) that can be trained to automate image classification schemes based on vessel type, origin and other characteristics determinable from AIS data.

Objective 2: Once calibrated, the method developed can be used to process historical, and future, satellite image product automatically enabling the near real-time mapping of illegal fishing activity. These data will increase our understanding of fishing effort trends.

Objective 3: The socio-economic impact of the reduction in squid availability will be evaluated at the local level via online interviews and surveys. National Household Survey Data, conducting every year, will be used to assess local and regional changes in patterns of squid consumption, with relation to other protein sources. Imports and export quantities and values will be examined to understand changes in global dynamics.

Year 1

Literature review and research design. Begin work on Objective 1.

Year 2

Complete Objective 1 and commence Objective 2.

Year 3

Complete Objective 2 and 3.

Year 3.5

Write up thesis

The student will develop the skills necessary to undertake the data analysis outlined in the project description. There is in-house expertise in spatial data science and machine learning. The supervisory team are members of three strong research groups: the Bell Edwards Geographic Data Institute (BEGIN) and the Centre for Research into Ecological and environmental Modelling (CREEM) at St. Andrews University, and the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University.

Further training is available through the Centre for Education Enhancement and Development at St. Andres. This includes a suit of workshops and activities designed specifically for research postgraduate students (i.e. PhD, MPhil) to support their development, to improve their research capability and widen their employability inside and outside of academia.

The student will be expected to present their work at appropriate national and international conferences throughout their PhD research. Although no fieldwork is included as part of the PhD project, there might be the opportunity to travel to Northern of Peru to conduct surveys in coastal communities.