This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Across the waters of West Africa, commercial fishing vessels vanish along international boundary lines. Hours—sometimes days, and even weeks—pass.
New FIU research reveals 11 ships account for the majority of these dark journeys—73%, to be exact. That concentration is at the heart of a new study published in Applied Geography by FIU criminologists Stephen Pires and Emilie Christiansen along with Georgia Southern University researcher Dylan Spencer. They analyzed thousands of instances in which commercial fishing vessels appeared to intentionally disable their automatic identification systems (AIS) off the coast of West Africa.
What they uncovered suggests the vessels aren't simply disappearing at random. The same ships are going dark again and again, often in very particular places. They are also sailing under what the researchers call "flags of convenience." Rather than flying under their country of origin's flag, these ships are often registered in another country, which can provide economic or regulatory advantages if the registered country has weaker enforcement and oversight.
The practice itself is legal, and neither a flag of convenience nor an AIS gap proves a vessel is fishing illegally. But both have been associated with increased risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, according to Pires, who is associate chair of the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice in the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and a researcher in FIU's Institute of Environment.
The researchers wanted to know whether the disappearances left behind patterns that could help authorities identify where illegal fishing is most likely to occur. From the data, patterns did emerge. "You don't need to track down and board every fishing vessel flying a flag of convenience or going dark," Pires said.
"You need to identify the most chronic offenders in your waters—which in this case amounted to only 11 vessels over three years—and board those ships to ask good questions, request documentation and check whether they are also committing other crimes, such as labor abuse or trafficking illicit products." If illegal behavior is identified, the vessels can be removed from these waters, which Pires said can lead to a significant reduction in illegal activity. "Illegal fishing is one of the biggest threats to ocean health," said Mike Heithaus, marine biologist and FIU's vice provost of environment and environmental resilience. "This kind of work can help fisheries remain healthy and ensure their operations remain sustainable." Using publicly available data from Global Fishing Watch, the researchers examined more than 3,600 dark journeys recorded over a three-year period off the coasts of 23 West African countries.
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