Global Fishing Watch AIS data has been enhanced by the addition of Marine Traffic terrestrial receivers starting January 3, 2024. Global Fishing Watch purchased Marine Traffic data in order to supplement the loss of Orbcomm-supplied data, which ended December 31, 2022 (more info here). The Marine Traffic data is located in three high density areas where satellite reception can be poor around the globe, specifically the Mediterranean Sea, South China Sea, and the North Sea.
The addition of the information provided by the terrestrial receivers has helped to illuminate a clearer picture of activities at sea in these opaque regions (see Table 1). In a random 4 day sample of data, 71% of Marine Traffic messages did not exist in other provider feeds, and it provides improved coverage along stretches of coastlines.
View table with Relative percentage increase in number of unique MMSI over a 10 day period in 2024 excluding stationary vessels.
