Major Illegal Fishing Bust, Thanks to AI!

An AI-powered fisheries intelligence platform helped Panamanian authorities conduct their largest-ever bust of illegal fishing, as vessels were caught in marine protected areas (MPAS) located in the Pacific Ocean.

“This was big news, and it came as a surprise for everyone,” says Annissamyd Del Cid, the Panama national coordinator at WildAid, a San Francisco-based non-governmental organization, which has been working in the Eastern Tropical Pacific since 2010, including helping to bolster authorities’ monitoring capacities.

Six longliner vessels were seized in the Cordillera de Coiba, a marine protected area part of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, which connects several MPAs in four countries. Surveillance data show that ten additional vessels were illegally fishing, but they left before the authorities arrived, prompting an investigation. All vessels were Panamanian-flagged, meaning they were registered in Panama. However, the identity and nationality of the owner remain unknown. Maritime surveillance was made possible with Skylight, an  AI-powered fisheries intelligence platform designed to help reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.