Every day, hundreds of thousands of intentionally placed floating objects drift through our ocean, each one a magnet for marine life. They’re known as fish aggregating devices (FADs), human-made objects designed and deployed by fishers to attract pelagic fish — primarily tuna, billfish, and dolphinfish (mahi-mahi) — and catch them in more concentrated numbers.

Pelagic fish, which live in the water column rather than the bottom or shore of the ocean, have a natural tendency to gather around floating objects like seaweed, logs, or other marine debris, where they may stay for days or even weeks. FADs exploit this behaviour to the fisher’s benefit.

But without proper detection and monitoring, FADs can do more harm than good.

Types of FADs

Today, commercial FADs are equipped with satellite buoys, most also having sonar echo sounders, allowing vessels to track their location, estimate fish volume, and then time the harvest using seines, hooks, or vertical longlines for maximum efficiency and financial benefit. Made of artificial or natural materials, FADs may be anchored with ropes and lines to the sea floor (anchored FADs, or aFADs) or left to drift freely (drifting FADs, or dFADs).

Anchored FADs are fastened to the seabed and are revisited many times. 

Industrial versions, common in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are built from steel, aluminium, or fiberglass and often equipped with radar reflectors and solar-powered lights, then moored in deep offshore waters. Inshore versions may be constructed of simpler materials like cork, bottles, or polystyrene and used by both local artisanal fishers and larger commercial fishing companies. 

These fixed anchored FADs comprised the majority of FADs in the ocean until the 1990s, when tuna fishing industry practices changed from targeting free-swimming schools to catching fish associated with floating objects. 

Drifting FADs are released, historically with a radar or radio tracker but now with satellite trackers, and comprise large drifting rafts with ropes or netting extending up to 100 meters below the surface. They became more prevalent in the 1990s as part of the new fishing industry tactics mentioned above. Beginning in the early 2000s, many dFADs started including satellite-linked buoys for better remote tracking.

An estimated 1.41 million dFAD buoys were released between 2007 and 2021, drifting across roughly 134 million square kilometres (37%) of Earth’s ocean surface. With each industrial vessel managing hundreds of dFADs at a time, the cumulative footprint of these devices is vast and many go missing every year. Lost dFADs have stranded in 104 maritime jurisdictions, contributing to coastal pollution and damaging habitats. In the western and central Pacific, for example, only about 10% were recovered during the five-year period 2016–2020. 

FADs can, at times, be a force for good. When unfished and deployed in marine protected areas (MPAs) like Palmyra Atoll, for example, FADs have been shown to help attract fish into safe waters — where they may then stay longer, live longer, and support a more thriving ecosystem.

But such benefits only scratch the surface of a much larger story. Across the world's oceans, most operate without effective oversight, creating a cascade of unintended consequences for marine life and the ecosystems they depend on.

How FADs threaten marine wildlife and ecosystems

FADs are designed to catch pelagic fish, but they also disrupt marine ecosystems in far-reaching ways.

• Bycatch and overfishing of non-target species. FADs alter natural fish behaviour, drawing a variety of species into dense aggregations beneath their floating structures. When industrial purse seine nets encircle these aggregations, they catch everything within range — target and non-target species alike. This practice leads to high bycatch rates of juvenile tuna, sharks, rays, and other pelagic fish, many of which are discarded or die without being used. Over time, this can disrupt population structures and weaken the resilience of entire marine ecosystems.

• Risks to sea turtles. Sea turtles face multiple threats from FADs, starting with entanglement in nets, ropes, or lines used in their construction. Their flippers, head, neck, and carapace are all vulnerable to getting caught in this gear, leading to drowning from prolonged submergence, broken limbs, lacerations, or exhaustion from struggling to escape. The problem worsens when FADs are lost or abandoned, creating “ghost-fishing” hazards that continue trapping turtles long after deployment while also damaging or destroying critical turtle habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds. Additionally, turtles can also be caught as bycatch in fishing operations near FADs.
   
• Risks to marine mammals. Cetaceans like dolphins and whales and pinnipeds such as seals and walruses are all susceptible to entanglement in the nets, ropes, and anchoring lines associated with FADs. Entanglement can restrict movement, interfere with feeding, and ultimately lead to drowning if an animal gets trapped underwater. Globally, an estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die every year from entanglement with ocean trash and fishing gear, which includes FADs. And for every entangled whale reported, another 10 more likely go unreported.
  
• Marine pollution and habitat damage. The materials used in modern FADs create lasting environmental problems. Since many FADs consist primarily of non-biodegradable materials and have low retrieval rates, abandoned devices continue attracting and entangling marine life long after their intended use. They can also entangle and damage vulnerable marine ecosystem plant life, leading to persistent environmental hazards.
  
• Marine litter risks. FADs contribute to marine litter when they wash ashore on beaches or strand on coral reefs, causing harm to sensitive habitats including seagrass beds and coral reefs. Research on marine litter from FADs in the Mediterranean reveals the extent of this problem: dilapidated old fishing gear — mainly FAD ropes — represented the main source of marine debris, contributing 96% to the overall litter in the study area.

Unfortunately, there are currently no standardised mitigation strategies to reduce FAD-related impacts on marine life. While there is growing interest in creating FADs from biodegradable material to reduce their physical footprint, real progress depends on deepening our understanding of the full scope of their impacts.

Why it’s hard to track FAD impacts 

Understanding the full impact of FADs on marine life is challenging because these devices create multiple, interconnected problems that are difficult to observe and quantify. Once deployed, FADs can drift for months or years with only occasional checks, and many are lost or abandoned without ever being visited again — turning them into sources of both wildlife entanglement and persisting marine pollution. And with so few recovered, fleets often deploy even more, creating a cycle where there are always more at sea to lose.

Even with human observers on large purse seine vessels, entanglements at depth or distance are often missed. They may be short-lived and easily overlooked during the limited opportunities for human observation. According to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (ITCC), these factors make monitoring negative impacts incredibly difficult. 

Meanwhile, the degradation of FADs into marine litter happens gradually and in remote areas, making it nearly impossible to track how abandoned gear affects sensitive habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds. This combination of observational limitations and the long-term dispersal of FAD components means we're likely seeing only a fraction of the total effects on marine ecosystems and the animals that depend on them.

Five steps to smarter FAD management

Tracking FAD use is challenging, but new tools and partnerships are opening the door to smarter, more sustainable management.

1. Satellite monitoring can help track where and how FADs are deployed, giving NGOs, regulators, and researchers better visibility into fishing practices. Although common among industrial fleets, the downsizing and cost declines of satellite trackers are making them more accessible in small-scale fisheries.
   
2. Remote sensing can provide an alternative view to the on-the-ground analysis conducted by various maritime industries, with increased spatial capabilities and without the potential for human error and environmental factors influencing in-person sightings.
   
3. Data sharing and collaboration with regional fisheries management organisations and trade groups can make insights more effective, supporting oversight, encouraging sustainable practices like biodegradable gear, retrieval programs, and spatial management measures, and helping verify responsible fishing methods are followed.
   
4. Localised guidance and support can help translate broad data into practical steps, from verifying compliance to protecting vulnerable species in specific regions.
   
5. Clean ownership and accountability can improve FAD management by marking devices so they can be traced back to the responsible vessel or company, making recovery and proper disposal feasible while encouraging responsibility for environmental impacts.

Ultimately, reliable, independent data is the key to reducing risks and managing FAD use more responsibly. With better tools and stronger collaboration, we can turn insight into action and safeguard a healthier, more sustainable future for our ocean.

hero image: iStock / veliferum

OFFmap tracks the export, transport, transshipment, and import of coal, LNG, and soon oil to monitor emissions impacts on the path to decarbonisation.

OXFORD, England, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- OceanMind, the impact organisation providing independent data intelligence to help protect the world's ocean, today announced the launch of a first-of-a-kind tool tracking oceangoing fossil fuel transport and supply chains: OFFmap.

The global fossil fuel trade moves billions of tonnes of coal, oil, and natural gas by sea each year — yet this massive carbon supply chain operates largely in the shadows with little to no real-time visibility for fossil fuels moving across the ocean. Without precise data on these movements — and with huge gaps in industry reporting — stakeholders have lacked the transparency needed to drive decarbonisation and monitor progress toward climate goals.

"Using advanced vessel tracking and port mapping, OFFmap gives stakeholders actionable intelligence about the who, what, where, and when of oceangoing fossil fuels." – Nick Wise, CEO, OceanMind

OceanMind's new oceangoing fossil fuels map (OFFmap) tracks the movement and impacts of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will add oil to its coverage in the near future. The tool provides critical visibility into the missing link between onshore pipelines, tanker trucking, and other operations: the oceangoing portion of their journey to final end use, which produces additional emissions such as direct shipping emissions from vessels and additional leakage, such as from LNG tankers.

This level of visibility is vital to gaining fuller transparency and accounting of the entire fossil fuel supply chain. It also supports sanctions enforcement, ensuring restricted goods don't enter markets through indirect routes.

OFFmap features include:

• Comprehensive port and terminal mapping for over 15,000 locations including individual terminals, jetties, and offshore facilities.
• Precise vessel and cargo tracking for 100,000+ coal vessels and 1,000+ LNG tankers, with individual berth and loading/unloading operation identification.
• Offshore transshipment detection of ship-to-ship transfers and remote operations, including Arctic locations and other hard-to-monitor areas.
• Validated cargo volume estimates of actual fossil fuel volumes moved, with data validated against official port reports showing 98-99% accuracy alignment.

OFFmap will help supply chain companies, policymakers, global NGOs, and other diverse stakeholders working toward decarbonisation and ocean protection get comprehensive support for tracking and analysing fossil fuel supply chains. Thanks to support from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF), the tool is free and open to anyone interested in understanding the full picture of fossil fuel transport. NGOs and other mission-aligned organisations can also request free access to the underlying dataset.

"The ability to pinpoint the pathway and impact of fossil fuels during ocean transport — including where they go, and how and to whom they flow — is urgent to driving decarbonisation and climate action progress," said Nick Wise, CEO, OceanMind. "Using advanced vessel tracking and port mapping, OFFmap gives stakeholders actionable intelligence about the who, what, where, and when of oceangoing fossil fuels."

"Leveraging AI-driven solutions rooted in high-quality, transparent data is an important tool for addressing the climate crisis, and OFFmap is a strong example of that caliber of impactful innovation," said Nick Cain, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, PJMF. "OceanMind's work brings never-before-seen transparency to fossil fuel supply chains and associated emissions impacts, which will help countless stakeholders move closer to decarbonisation goals."

OceanMind built OFFmap based on a decade of proven methodology in maritime intelligence, working with governments and NGOs globally to deliver independent, real-time data.

To explore OFFmap and track emissions from fossil fuel transport, visit https://offmap.earth/. And to learn more about OceanMind and its other initiatives, visit www.oceanmind.global.

About OceanMind
Tech-enabled nonprofit OceanMind provides independent data intelligence, implementation guidance, capacity building, and direct enforcement assistance to help protect the world's ocean and support the nations, companies, people, and economies that depend on it. Officially founded in 2018, OceanMind uses remote monitoring, artificial intelligence, and maritime expertise to power stronger marine ecosystem protection and responsible fisheries initiatives; enforcement of regulations, treaties, and other activities; and support improved corporate ESG, climate impact, and related performance in the global fishing, shipping, and supply chain industries. Its work spans every ocean basin globally, including monitoring over 6 million square kilometres of marine protected areas, the compliance of hundreds of thousands of vessels, and the legality of hundreds of millions of dollars of tuna imports for international seafood markets, all in real time.

To learn more, visit www.oceanmind.global.

Media Contact
Nikki Arnone, Inflection Point Agency for OceanMind, 1 (719) 357-8344, nikki@inflectionpointagency.com, https://oceanmind.global/ 

Logan Varsano, Inflection Point Agency for OceanMind, logan@inflectionpointagency.com, https://oceanmind.global/ 

SOURCE Inflection Point Agency for OceanMind

French Polynesia recently made ocean conservation history. In June 2025 on the opening day of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), President Moetai Brotherson announced the island nation had designated its entire Exclusive Economic Zone a marine protected area (MPA) — establishing the world’s largest at 4.8 million square kilometres. 

Within this massive protected area, ~1.1 million square kilometres will be fully protected (Class I) or highly protected (Class II) zones where fishing or extractive activities are completely prohibited or heavily restricted. To put this in perspective, even just the highly protected area is around twice the size of continental France, while the entire MPA is more than five times larger than all marine protected areas in Europe combined. (Across OceanMind’s portfolio of work, we monitor a similarly expansive 4.5 million square kilometres, so we’re no stranger to the true size and scale of French Polynesia’s new MPA.)

This historic designation matters because MPAs are ocean lifelines. Globally, they serve as havens for millions of marine species that support the entire ocean food web, providing refuge for more than two-thirds of threatened marine species. They’re also economic powerhouses and foster biodiversity, enabling ocean life to better adapt to the effects of a changing climate.

Five challenges for implementation, and how to tackle them

French Polynesia’s MPA designation has been rightly celebrated, from mainstream media to ocean conservation NGOs. For the government and its agencies, implementing the MPA comes next. As they do so, they’ll tackle five core challenges:

1. Vast geographic area: The MPA’s enormous expanse means that it will be extremely difficult to patrol and monitor effectively.
2. Remote and dispersed archipelago: French Polynesia consists of 118 islands, making access to remote MPA zones logistically complex and costly.
3. IUU fishing: The vast MPA is vulnerable to illegal fishing, especially by industrial distant water fleets (DWFs).
4. Limited financial and human resources: French Polynesia has a small population and budget, limiting enforcement personnel and operational capacity.
5. Limited maritime infrastructure: Few large ports or maritime bases mean longer response times for intercepting violations.

These challenges are neither unique to French Polynesia, nor are they insurmountable. In OceanMind's experience ensuring the sanctity of ~5 million square kilometres of MPAs spread across every ocean basin, there are a suite of tools and best practices that help jurisdictions bridge from MPA designation to effective realisation. They include:

• Satellites and AI: Use of satellite surveillance, employing AI-powered analysis for vessel tracking systems (AIS, VMS), and automated remote sensing detectability with satellite imagery can bring the MPA’s vastness within reach
• International collaboration: French Polynesia can collaborate with international partners for joint surveillance missions and improve international cooperation to pursue offenders, including coordinating with regional Pacific island nations and the Forum Fisheries Agency under multilateral agreements/frameworks.
• Engage flag states: Ultimately, flag states are responsible for vessel activities at sea. Engaging a flag state early when suspicious activity is detected can result in rapid action.
• Leverage port states: All seafood catch must eventually be landed in a port.  Carefully analysing vessel movements and transshipments to determine where IUU catch enters port and working with port states to inspect and apprehend vessels prevents criminals from converting catch to cash.
• Enhanced legal deterrents: Stronger legal deterrents (e.g., fines, vessel blocklisting with adjacent RFMOs) as well as legal frameworks with clear penalties and rapid enforcement protocols can disincentivise illegal activity in the MPA.
• Diversify funding and resourcing: Considering different funding streams (aside from direct government funding) like international conservation funding and NGO partnerships, or public-private collaborations with research institutions and tech companies, can help address resourcing limitations.

Despite enforcement challenges, MPAs are working — and smart tech is playing a role

MPAs — especially large, remote ones — can be challenging to effectively enforce (1, 2, 3). But new research published earlier this month delivered some welcome news: “little to no industrial fishing occurs in fully and highly protected marine areas.”

Researchers found that, on average, fully protected MPAs had just one fishing vessel per 20,000 square kilometers during satellite overpasses — a density nine times lower than unprotected waters in nearby EEZs. 

Smart tech — including AI and satellite-based tools — are helping governments combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and preserve the integrity of their MPAs.

And on World MPA Day, here at OceanMind we’re proud to be part of the solution. For more than a decade, we’ve used satellites, AI, and human expertise to support enforcement across more than 5 million square kilometers of protected waters worldwide.

OceanMind has conducted multiple fisheries compliance assessments in the South Pacific, such as in the Pitcairn Islands to the east of French Polynesia, around Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and along the Chilean coast. Beyond the Pacific, we’ve supported MPA monitoring and enforcement for other remote archipelagos, such as Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.

French Polynesia's historic designation represents ambitious ocean protection at unprecedented scale. On this World MPA Day and beyond, smart technology use will be key to turning that kind of ambition into reality, safeguarding the ocean that sustains us all.

image: Unsplash | Fabien Bellanger

In fall 2023, Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea — one of the world’s most vital arteries for trade. Linking the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, this narrow stretch moves billions in global trade between Asia, Europe, and beyond.

Since then, the Red Sea has become a dangerous and unpredictable stretch for commercial shipping. Attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, pushed many major carriers to reroute their ships all the way around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. This detour added thousands of miles to journeys that previously flowed steadily through the Red Sea, while triggering a sharp decline in port activity in Saudi Arabia’s western ports. And the threat hasn’t let up — Houthi attacks have continued into mid-2025, with the latest reported strike as recent as July.

As a result, ports like Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdullah Port — once buzzing hubs for container traffic and transshipment — have seen their volumes shrink drastically: Jeddah experienced a steep fall in vessel calls and cargo volumes, while King Abdullah's throughput dropped by over 80% in 2024.

Some smaller and regional carriers have tried to fill the gap with feeder services, keeping a trickle of trade moving through the Red Sea. But ultra-large container ships have mostly stayed away, keeping the region’s shipping footprint — and associated emissions — far below what they once were. Even recent attempts by carriers like CMA CGM to resume Red Sea sailings have been hampered by rising tensions and fresh conflicts.

Below, OceanMind's monthly analysis charts the impact of these disruptions on both shipping activity and emissions. Using AIS devices and vessel characteristics like size and engine specifications, this approach tracks maritime patterns worldwide — including in the Red Sea region. Read on for a closer look at activity in the Red Sea versus the Persian Gulf, followed by a deep dive on port analytics at Jeddah and King Abdullah.

Saudi shipping activity and emissions: Red Sea vs. Persian Gulf

Overall, OceanMind's data present a clear picture of regional disruption. 

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports experienced a steep drop in vessel activity, reflecting the impact of rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. Activity here declined from more than 1.1 million nautical miles in 2023 to around 600,000 throughout 2024 and into 2025 — a roughly 45% decrease.

Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf — anchored by Saudi Arabia's busy port of Dammam — shows stable activity levels, unaffected by the Red Sea disruptions.

The emissions data tell a similar story. The Red Sea saw emissions drop even more dramatically than activity, falling from more than 500,000 to less than 200,000 tonnes CO₂e 100yr — a roughly 60% reduction as fewer large vessels transit the waterway.

(Note: The data in this article are based on Climate TRACE release 4.4.0 from late June 2025, which includes international shipping data contributed by OceanMind. To determine port activity and emissions for trips between two ports, OceanMind tracks the movement of vessels, then assigns the nautical miles travelled and corresponding emissions split across the origin and destination ports. Estimated emissions while the vessel is staying in a port are all assigned to the respective port.)

Port-Level Impact: Jeddah Islamic Port

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's largest container port on the Red Sea, shows a sustained drop in monthly activity from early 2023 levels to significantly lower volumes through 2024 and into 2025. The downturn aligns with major carriers rerouting away from the Red Sea amid escalating security risks.

The emissions data for Jeddah follow the same pattern, with reduced ship traffic translating directly into lower shipping emissions assigned to the port. The data illustrate how closely port-level emissions track with vessel activity levels.

Port-Level Impact: King Abdullah Port

King Abdullah Port, previously one of the fastest-growing container terminals globally, shows an even steeper drop in vessel activity. Monthly activity levels have plunged dramatically, reflecting the near-total halt of deep-sea services since early 2024.

Correspondingly, emissions linked to shipping at King Abdullah Port have plummeted.

Why granular data matter for maritime resilience

These snapshots reveal how deeply the Red Sea crisis has reshaped maritime traffic patterns across the region. Monthly, granular data like these — made freely available as part of OceanMind's role in Climate TRACE — transform how we understand and respond to global shipping disruptions. 

This kind of insight helps industry leaders and policymakers anticipate risks more clearly and adapt strategies to meet the realities of a shifting maritime landscape.

hero image: Jeddah Islamic Port, Saudi Arabia (iStock / eugenesergeev)

Oxfordshire, UK — 11 June 2025 — OceanMind, the impact organisation providing independent data intelligence to help protect the world’s ocean, today announces the launch of ZEROinFIVE, an initiative to stop all illegal seafood imports within five years by blocking illegally caught fish at ports.

Globally, an estimated 1 in 5 fish (20%) are caught illegally. In some countries, that number can reach as high as 50%. Such illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is devastating marine ecosystems and harming honest fishers.

The Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) — a UN FAO international treaty established in 2009 — gives governments the legal right to block illegally caught fish from entering markets, stopping it before it lands in port. If fully implemented by all signatories, the PSMA would essentially make illegal fish unsellable, meaning catch cannot be converted to cash.

However, out of the 80 signatories of the agreement, most countries need more tools, data, and training to verify the origin of every imported catch and implement PSMA to maximum effectiveness.

Empowering governments and port authorities with stronger PSMA implementation support and capacity building

Crossing the bridge between PSMA’s potential and authorities’ capacity to enforce it is where OceanMind’s ZEROinFIVE initiative comes in.

“The challenge is monumental,” said Nick Wise, CEO, OceanMind. “But so is the opportunity. We have the legal framework and the technology — what we need now is coordinated action. Through ZEROinFIVE, we can equip nations with the tools and training to turn the PSMA from paper into practice, cutting off the pathways that allow illegal catch to reach consumers worldwide."

OceanMind’s planetary-scale technology, co-designed with Microsoft over the past 10 years, combines satellite surveillance with AI-powered risk assessments to streamline inspection planning, in-port investigation, and port use decision-making anywhere.

Harnessing these advanced technologies, OceanMind helps countries make confident, data-driven decisions to:

1. Verify vessel histories,
2. Detect IUU activities, and
3. Deny access to port services.  

OceanMind’s capacity building programme begins with full support for PSMA risk assessments and inspection planning, followed by a complete handover and independent operation by the host country over a 12- to 24-month period.

Proven success in Thailand — and replicating the approach

Between 2015 and 2020, OceanMind supported Thailand authorities in a complete reform of its fisheries enforcement capability, including comprehensive PSMA implementation:

• Developing an AI-powered risk assessment tool to help port officials verify the behaviour of any vessel requesting port access to import seafood, and
• Launching a capacity building programme to train officials in pre-entry risk assessment, inspection planning, and import authorisation decision making.

Following that success, OceanMind has also today announced at the third United Nations Ocean Conference a commitment to deliver this programme of capacity building in the Philippines and Cambodia, with the support of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. Our newly launched ZEROinFIVE initiative aims to replicate and scale this approach globally.

OceanMind is ready to deploy this programme to all 80 signatories of the PSMA, closing every major port in the world to imported IUU fish. This would significantly reduce IUU fishing and the associated damage to the environment globally.

"We've proven this approach works in the regions where we've partnered with authorities," said Nick Wise. "Now we need philanthropic partners, collaborating governments, and participating authorities to help us rapidly scale. With expanded support, we can achieve what once seemed impossible: zero illegal seafood imports within five years. The ocean can't wait — but together, we don't have to."

Learn more about ZEROinFIVE, and talk to our team about how to support this work.

###

ABOUT OCEANMIND
OceanMind is a modern breed of impact organization that’s equal parts mission-centric nonprofit NGO and tech-enabled data and analytics provider. It provides independent data intelligence to help protect the world’s ocean and support the nations, companies, people, and economies that depend on it.

Learn more here: https://oceanmind.global/

MEDIA CONTACT
Nikki Arnone, Inflection Point Agency for OceanMind nikki@inflectionpointagency.com

Environments globally and the economies that depend on them are changing rapidly — and insurance is often on the front lines of those changes. Coastal homes are becoming uninsurable in the face of more-frequent and more-severe hurricanes, typhoons, and other storms. In wildfire-prone regions such as California, some insurers have stopped renewing or issuing new fire policies. When it comes to the maritime sector, the insurance market is the proverbial tip of the spear for the businesses that comprise the global ocean economy.

With industrial fishing activities impacting more than half of the ocean and shipping transporting almost 90% of everything we make, buy, and sell, it’s no wonder that:

• 87% of marine ecosystems are now impacted by human activity
• 80% of all fish biomass has been lost over the past 100 years
• Thousands of marine species are at risk of extinction this century 

As sea life populations decline and marine ecosystems deteriorate, businesses across the maritime industry will see operational costs rise. To help them get ahead of the issue, new non-financial disclosure regulations aim to bring these previously hidden risks to light, so companies can address sustainability challenges before they become business liabilities.

Since most maritime supply chain operations are insured, the insurance sector holds significant leverage to help drive change while mitigating its own exposure to rising risks. Traditionally, insurers have relied on historical data to assess risk and set policy prices. But in a world where environmental conditions are shifting rapidly, past data is no longer a good predictor of future threats. A once-in-two-hundred-year catastrophe might now be just once-in-twenty. 

To address this challenge, OceanMind has partnered with Concirrus AI to deliver detailed, comprehensive marine sustainability risk insights — beginning with emissions. This collaboration equips insurers with the tools they need to assess, price, and manage environmental risks more effectively in today's rapidly changing landscape.

Real-time data for better risk assessment

More than ever, insurers and reinsurers need current assessments that reflect today’s changing risk landscape — just as law enforcement needs current assessments of actual risk behaviour to enforce the law. By integrating real-time risk insights into cost and loss calculations, underwriters and actuaries can price premiums based on actual behavior rather than outdated historical trends. 

This approach not only enables insurers to more accurately assess risk; it also encourages maritime operators to adopt safer practices in order to reduce premiums. As operators reduce high-risk behaviors, the overall impact on ocean health diminishes — and insurers benefit from fewer claims and lower costs related to environmental damage.

The key to maximizing this mutual benefit lies in creating stronger connections between compliance requirements and financial drivers.

Reinforcing compliance through financial accountability

Most of the damaging human activity on the ocean is already regulated. The damage persists where it is not effectively enforced. At OceanMind, we’ve been collaborating with regulatory agencies to provide the technology and support necessary to enhance compliance and protect marine environments. Our efforts have proven successful in the regions we’ve partnered with, but we know that enforcement alone is not enough.

Building on our established work in marine law enforcement support — where our advanced technology has been used to detect and prevent illegal fishing, monitor maritime emissions, and reduce harmful practices — we saw an opportunity to go even further. By extending our capabilities to support the insurance sector with data that helps mitigate risks before they escalate, we can create additional financial incentives that complement direct regulatory approaches.

As the landscape shifts, emerging financial regulations like the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and its Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence now provide insurers with a unique opportunity to directly address the source of much of the ocean’s damage: business supply chains. 

By integrating sustainability data into insurance processes, companies are held to higher standards, promoting compliance and reducing the overall impact on the environment. This new regulatory approach aligns with the shift toward proactive risk management and provides a direct way for insurers to drive real, measurable change.

Expanding impact beyond insurance

Looking further ahead, the same insights can support broader financial services, allowing current risk behaviour to influence investment decisions and repayment terms. The greater the risk to future operations from unsustainable behaviour, the greater the cost of finance. And of course, the same risk insights can be used to help comply with corporate disclosure regulations.

OceanMind's real-time risk insights into maritime activities reveal the likelihood of damaging impacts to people and planet, empowering a new generation of risk managers to reduce operating costs while supporting sustainable and responsible business practices for years to come.

To learn more about OceanMind’s work and data, please get in touch today.

Period of Remembrance prompts call for resolution to retrieve looted Second World War anchor and proper burial for sailors lost in worst disaster in British naval history.

• Period of Remembrance prompts a timely reminder of sacrifice made by sailors lost at sea and to find a permanent home for the anchor indiscriminately looted from Second World War shipwreck and military designated grave HMS Prince of Wales. 
• The vital surveillance work carried out by the Maritime Observatory through satellite technology that alerted the heritage world to the desecration of the wrecks last year is marked by the launch of a short video.
• Ongoing discussions with HM Government hope for a positive resolution with oversea authorities.

As the nation enters a period of Remembrance, commemorating and honouring the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces, leading voices in the maritime archaeology world have issued a timely reminder to find a permanent home for the anchor looted from the Second World War Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales off the Malaysian coast last year and for a fitting burial of human remains from both the Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse which are currently in a Malaysian scrapyard.

Commonly cited as one of the worst disasters in British naval history, the attack and sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse on 10th December 1941 by aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy sent shockwaves through the country.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously recalled in his post-war memoirs:
“In all the war, I never received a more direct shock.” at the news that 842 men had lost their lives.

The desecration of both wrecks 60 miles east off the Malaysian coast by a Chinese purpose-built salvage barge, the Chuan Hong 68, was tracked and recorded early in 2023 by the Maritime Observatory, a non-profit partnership between the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) and OceanMind which harnesses the growing capabilities of the commercial satellite sector to protect shipwrecks and other underwater heritage at sea.

In a short video, released today, the essential role the Maritime Observatory played in alerting the world to the desecration of the Royal Navy wreck sites is highlighted.

Major General Patrick Cordingley DSO OBE DSc FRGS former Commander of the Desert Rats in the First Gulf War and Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) trustee, explains:

“MAST, working for the Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy and the Survivors’ Association of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, is doing all it can to make certain that the human remains from the two ships receive a fitting resting place in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery. Also, MAST is determined to see an anchor from HMS Prince of Wales is brought back to this country as a fitting memorial to those who died when the two ships were sunk in December 1941.”

The fate of the wrecks of both warships has been discussed for almost five decades and highlights the complexity of monitoring and protecting Royal Navy wreck sites across the globe. 

Giles Richardson, Senior Archaeologist, MAST explains:

“Some of our findings are astonishing. Over a six-month period, looters repeatedly targeted the wreck of HMS Prince of Wales in the South China Sea and released a 10km oil slick into the environment. Now almost nothing is left of the wreck.”  

As part of a team undertaking the 2001 UNESCO Convention Impact Review for the United Kingdom, MAST has recently both funded and undertaken a major assessment of the international spread of UK sovereign wrecks.

This assessment, which has been called the Royal Navy Loss List shows that there are over 5,000 Royal Naval wrecks scattered across the oceans of the world, covering the period between 1512 and 2004.

98% of the world’s oceans are managed by regulations designed to protect their ecosystems; enforcing these regulations is the key to preserving ocean health for all our futures.

By Nick Wise.

The Ocean is the Earth’s Life Support System

The ocean is home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and our survival depends on their ability to thrive. The ocean is also wild, vast, and remote, making protecting those species a challenge for humans to undertake alone.

One of the ways we can ensure the long-term conservation and protection of the ocean is to establish marine protected areas, but the solution may not be just in the creation of new reserves. It can also be found in enforcing the regulations that already exist.

Marine protected areas are clearly defined geographical areas designed to limit human activity on the ocean to enable preservation of the marine environment for several reasons, including safeguarding biodiversity, species protection, and the protection of economic resources. There are almost 15,000 Marine Protected Areas around the world, with 72% of the global protected area consisting of just 36 large protected areas. Many small island nations are tasked with enforcing regulations across vast marine protected areas with limited human capacity and financial resources. This is where satellite-enabled remote sensing can support the protection of these vast ecosystems.

At any one time there are many thousands of satellites in orbit around the Earth that provide us with information about our environment, including human activity on the oceans that goes beyond our visual line of sight.

Vessel monitoring systems and automatic identification systems transmit signals through a vessel’s onboard transceiver that are received by satellites. This data can be used to identify vessels and map their course, position, and speed, enabling enforcement authorities and expert analysts to build a picture of the vessel’s suspected activities and take appropriate action such as further investigation.

However, these systems cannot be solely relied upon to identify all instances of potentially destructive human activity at sea. These systems can be tampered with, so they transmit false identification or location information, or even switched off completely turning a vessel ‘dark’. Synthetic Aperture Radar and Electro-Optical satellites create images of vessels at sea that can be correlated against vessel tracking data. If a vessel appears on an image but there is no corresponding AIS or VMS tracking data at that time, it is a likely indicator of a ‘dark vessel’ which may be operating illegally or carrying out unreported or unregulated activity. Intelligence about this vessel’s potential activities can be sent to the authorities who are then empowered to investigate further.

Collecting and processing remote sensing data over millions of square kilometres of ocean to enable the protection of large scale marine protected areas is an impossible task for humans to undertake alone. With support from cloud computing artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, OceanMind can collate large amounts of data to accurately detect activities that might require further investigation by enforcement authorities within a matter of hours.

Investigation of suspected activity cannot happen without the support of expert analysts who have been trained to look for the patterns identified by the machine learning algorithms and produce risk assessments to help the authorities focus their efforts and resources.

Many of the UK Overseas Territories that are responsible for protecting the UK Blue Belt may only have a single patrol vessel available to them to carry out enforcement across these large protected areas. OceanMind’s expert analysts can both help to identify the biggest risks in terms of vessel activity and efficiently direct patrol assets, as well as continuing to monitor ongoing activity by other vessels across the marine protected area while the patrol vessel is investigating.

The OceanMind solution makes the invisible, visible, and the unknown, known.

To ensure that the systems in place are effective and sustainable for the long-term protection of marine protected areas, capacity development and training are an integral part of the support that is needed to ensure effective enforcement and compliance with marine protection regulations.

It is vitally important that any system or analysis method adopted by enforcement authorities is tailored to meet the individual needs and requirements for protecting the identified area. Every marine protected area around the world has different rules regarding the management and protection of the habitat and species that reside or transit through that area. This adds an additional layer of complexity that requires both expert and local knowledge to interpret and develop strategies for preventing potential IUU fishing or environmental pollution incidents.

Combining satellite-enabled technology with big data processing, expert analysis and capacity development is the key to enforcing the marine protection regulations that cover large scale protected areas and ensuring a healthy future for us all.

Over the past five years alone, OceanMind’s analysts have monitored over 500 million square kilometres of satellite radar imagery covering ocean across a dozen territories as part of our work supporting the UK Blue Belt programme. We have provided more than 200 days of real-time support for patrol vessels, enabling targeted investigations of suspected illegal activity in marine protected areas. We have further supported the UK Government’s Marine Management Organisation in developing the skills and capacity required to analyse remote-sensing data and take action to protect our ocean.

Contact us to find out more about our MPA surveillance and capacity building work.

A call to all governments:
Let’s work on our Ocean to-do list

By Stella Bartolini Cavicchi.

Today on World Ocean Day, we celebrate the incredible progress that the past year has brought us, from the landmark set of goals and targets agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Montreal in December 2022, to the global commitment and ongoing negotiations to develop an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. These frameworks are key to leveraging action for positive change, and in this spirit today we would like to focus our attention on the actions ahead for all nations following the adoption of the BBNJ agreement.

What happened?

World governments came together and compromised to successfully complete a decade-long series of negotiations and agree a text for the international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ in short, also known as the ‘High Seas Treaty’).

What’s next?

The agreement still needs to be formally adopted, which is expected to happen at the next session of the Intergovernmental Conference, taking place on the 19th and 20th June. Then, the long and arduous path to implementation begins, starting with national ratifications. A minimum of 60 countries must ratify the instrument for it to enter into force, and this is no easy feat! For example, as of May 2023, the World Trade Organisation agreement on Fisheries Subsidies of June 2022 received its seventh ratification, with 102 left to go in order to enter into force. By way of comparison, the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) was approved in 2009 and needed 25 ratifications or other forms of approval to enter into force. This number was only reached in 2016 after significant momentum built up highlighting the importance of this agreement in the global fight to eliminate illegal fishing.

What should countries do to prepare for the implementation of this agreement? In order to successfully implement this game-changing and overarching agreement, countries will need to need to know:

What is happening in the areas immediately outside of their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), especially in waters above their extended continental shelf. This does not just apply to fishing activities but anything that could have impacts within national jurisdiction, as this will be considered when carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for activities in areas beyond national jurisdictions.

Where their fleets operate (whether it’s inside or outside Regional Fisheries Management Organisations), which activities they are carrying out and what their possible impact is.

This information will be essential if a country would like to propose the establishment of area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas, and equally so if a country is affected by any proposed management tools. Countries will have to know which of their vessels or nationals operate in an area that is the subject of an established ABMT, in order to adopt measures supporting the decisions and recommendations related to it.

It remains to be seen which precise activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction will require an Environmental Impact Assessment, as the Scientific and Technical Body that will be established may develop standards and guidelines on a list of activities and criteria, but the agreement currently states the threshold for conducting a screening of an activity is when the planned activity “may have more than a minor or transitory effect on the marine environment or the effects of the activity are unknown or poorly understood”. Therefore it would be prudent for countries to understand the effect of all activities their fleets and nationals are currently involved in.

It will be also necessary to start building a global picture of the state of the ocean as it is now, and all the activities taking place in/on/around it, in order to act as a baseline for considerations on transboundary harm and cumulative impacts, both addressed in the agreement.

Countries can further show leadership on BBNJ by requesting the provisional application of the agreement until it formally enters into force, and/or by adopting more stringent measures with respect to its nationals and vessels operating in the areas covered by the agreement.

How can OceanMind help?

Marine technology in the agreement is defined as including “expertise, knowledge, skills, technical, scientific and legal know-how and analytical methods related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.” At OceanMind we've been supporting governments in doing all of these activities for the purpose of conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity for almost 10 years, so we are in a unique position to play a role in this process. We have strong multidisciplinary expertise, knowledge and skills to provide actionable intelligence to governments in the context of national and regional policies to make implementation easier and successful. We understand the importance of sharing technical know-how and carrying out capacity-building to empower regional, national and local authorities to develop, implement, monitor, manage and enforce management tools including marine protected areas. Our work is carried out in confidence for the sole purpose of meeting authorities’ objectives.

Countries lacking the capacity to carry out this work have a multitude of financing options, ranging from private to second-country aid funding. OceanMind can support governments in this fundraising process, including understanding their needs and seeking out international funding. In addition, once the BBNJ instruments enters into force, it will facilitate substantial Capacity Building and Transfer of Marine Technology (CBTMT) so that countries will be able to receive support for the effective implementation of the agreement.

Click here for more information on how OceanMind can help with PSMA implementation.

Photo by Abyan Athif on Unsplash