nder the Radar is a weekly special series bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world, one region at a time. This week in the Hinterlands, two new research papers suggest AI and satellite technology could curb illegal fishing. Other noteworthy under–the–radar stories from the region include changes to NASA’s commercial space station standards, insight into space hurricanes, and a new way of looking at whale migration.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) protect marine biodiversity, but experts have raised concerns about their implementation, citing issues with government regulation and management. For instance, a February 2025 report found that among MPAs in EU waters, fishing was completely prohibited in 0.4% of protected areas, restricted in 23.5%, and allowed with limited if any restrictions in 41.8%. Critics suggest the lack of consistency reduces the effectiveness of MPAs. And, in addition to sanctioned fishing activities, MPAs must contend with illegal fishing. A peer–reviewed paper from July 2025 seems to demonstrate the success of highly–protected MPAs in curbing illegal fishing, suggesting that MPAs with more restrictions and better surveillance discourage illegal fishing. Meanwhile, another paper published at the same time focused on less–protected MPAs, suggesting that illegal fishing activity depends on the remoteness of the MPA, not the management.
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. IUU fishing costs the global economy an estimated $15 to $36 billion annually, providing an economic incentive to prevent the practice. And there are also regularly reported human rights violations (including human trafficking and modern–day slavery) that occur on IUU fishing vessels. Studies have also demonstrated that preventing illegal fishing allows for a resurgence in fish populations.
Although the two July papers disagree about what deters IUU fishing, they may have found the key to stopping IUU fishing: satellite and AI technology. Both papers combined data from the long–used Automatic Identification Systems (a GPS–based safety system for ocean vessels to identify each other) technology and Synthetic Aperture Radar technology (satellite imaging technology to produce high–quality images regardless of weather conditions) to identify illegal fishing activity. When industrial fishing vessels are going to engage in illegal activity, they often turn off their satellite transponders to avoid being tracked, making the Automatic Identification System data unreliable. The papers revealed that the Automatic Identification Systems missed almost 90% of the vessel detections that the Synthetic Aperture Radar technology identified, showing how easily illegal fishing vessels were previously able to avoid detection. But thanks to AI and improved satellite technology, these fishing vessels can’t continue hiding. For the papers, researchers trained AI models to use the data and identify illegal fishing vessels. This also enables AI models to predict where illegal fishing may take place, which would allow law enforcement to catch these vessels.
Here are some other under–the–radar stories from the Hinterlands:
- NASA’s acting administrator has changed the standards (due to budget cuts) for supporting the development of commercially owned space stations.
- A new study reveals that unpredictable space hurricanes can create the same effect as a geomagnetic storm, meaning further study is necessary to protect satellites responsible for GPS and satellite communications.
- A new study suggests that some species of whale swim 20% further than previously believed during their migrations, when including vertical distance traveled.
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Could AI turn the tide on illegal fishing?
Image by Richard Mcall from Pixabay
August 15, 2025
Diplomatic Courier’s Stephanie Gull brings you weekly under–the–radar stories from around the world. This week in the Hinterlands: New research suggesting AI could hold the key to addressing one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity.
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nder the Radar is a weekly special series bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world, one region at a time. This week in the Hinterlands, two new research papers suggest AI and satellite technology could curb illegal fishing. Other noteworthy under–the–radar stories from the region include changes to NASA’s commercial space station standards, insight into space hurricanes, and a new way of looking at whale migration.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) protect marine biodiversity, but experts have raised concerns about their implementation, citing issues with government regulation and management. For instance, a February 2025 report found that among MPAs in EU waters, fishing was completely prohibited in 0.4% of protected areas, restricted in 23.5%, and allowed with limited if any restrictions in 41.8%. Critics suggest the lack of consistency reduces the effectiveness of MPAs. And, in addition to sanctioned fishing activities, MPAs must contend with illegal fishing. A peer–reviewed paper from July 2025 seems to demonstrate the success of highly–protected MPAs in curbing illegal fishing, suggesting that MPAs with more restrictions and better surveillance discourage illegal fishing. Meanwhile, another paper published at the same time focused on less–protected MPAs, suggesting that illegal fishing activity depends on the remoteness of the MPA, not the management.
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. IUU fishing costs the global economy an estimated $15 to $36 billion annually, providing an economic incentive to prevent the practice. And there are also regularly reported human rights violations (including human trafficking and modern–day slavery) that occur on IUU fishing vessels. Studies have also demonstrated that preventing illegal fishing allows for a resurgence in fish populations.
Although the two July papers disagree about what deters IUU fishing, they may have found the key to stopping IUU fishing: satellite and AI technology. Both papers combined data from the long–used Automatic Identification Systems (a GPS–based safety system for ocean vessels to identify each other) technology and Synthetic Aperture Radar technology (satellite imaging technology to produce high–quality images regardless of weather conditions) to identify illegal fishing activity. When industrial fishing vessels are going to engage in illegal activity, they often turn off their satellite transponders to avoid being tracked, making the Automatic Identification System data unreliable. The papers revealed that the Automatic Identification Systems missed almost 90% of the vessel detections that the Synthetic Aperture Radar technology identified, showing how easily illegal fishing vessels were previously able to avoid detection. But thanks to AI and improved satellite technology, these fishing vessels can’t continue hiding. For the papers, researchers trained AI models to use the data and identify illegal fishing vessels. This also enables AI models to predict where illegal fishing may take place, which would allow law enforcement to catch these vessels.
Here are some other under–the–radar stories from the Hinterlands:
- NASA’s acting administrator has changed the standards (due to budget cuts) for supporting the development of commercially owned space stations.
- A new study reveals that unpredictable space hurricanes can create the same effect as a geomagnetic storm, meaning further study is necessary to protect satellites responsible for GPS and satellite communications.
- A new study suggests that some species of whale swim 20% further than previously believed during their migrations, when including vertical distance traveled.
