Spyglass.fish is an online tool which maps vessels that have fished illegally or committed other crimes at sea, giving fishery managers and enforcement officials another way to keep tabs on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It contains records for nearly 3,700 vessels and 1,200 companies so far, aims to document which vessels are the highest risk for IUU fishing so that they can be stopped.
The tool will be especially helpful for developing countries that might not have the financial resources to adequately fund surveillance efforts. Enforcement officials will be able to consult the database to identify vessels that have a history of illegal activity, even if those vessels haven’t been formally sanctioned. They will also be able to see which vessels have been blacklisted by regional fishery management organizations.