CANBERRA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers believe satellite technology could be the way forward in the fight against illegal fishing after they developed a "world-first" notification system.
The "world-first" notification system alerts authorities when an offending boat docks in port.
Using satellite technology to track boats suspected of undertaking illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, scientists from Australia's national scientific agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), believe they've cracked the code to clamping down on the scourge.
On Monday, senior scientist and co-designer of the new platform Dr. Chris Wilcox said the technology used readily-available data to track boats thought to be taking part in incidents of IUU fishing, declaring it the next step in ending the illegal, 23 billion U.S. dollar industry.
"Almost all vessels are equipped with anti-collision devices that can be detected by satellites," Wilcox said in a statement.
"Using data from these systems, we can shine a spotlight on vessels acting suspiciously based on factors including the vessel's history, movement and whether its transmitter has been intentionally disabled.
"Countries will be able to sign-up to receive notifications, or directly access the portal to search for vessels and then be provided with a report which highlights the suspicious behaviors involved."
More than 26 million tons of illegal fish are caught annually, making illegal fishing the third most lucrative crime in the world after weapons trafficking and drug smuggling.
"As well as costing tens of billions of dollars each year, IUU fishing leads to overfishing and depletion of stocks which has the greatest impact on developing countries whose people rely on fish as their primary source of protein and income," Wilcox said.
"As global population numbers continue to grow, combatting IUU fishing is becoming even more important to ensure future food security for the world."
Meanwhile, co-researcher Dr. Mark Powell from U.S.-based company Vulcan Inc. said the "valuable tool" would enable law enforcement agencies to "identify and locate suspicious vessels all over the world."
"Countries that use this new tool will now be able to reverse the tide of illegal fishing and help rebuild depleted fish stocks," Powell said on Monday.
