Spanish Government Cracks Down on 25 Fishing Vessels for Disabling Tracking Devices

The Spanish authorities have taken action against 25 Spanish-flagged fishing vessels for disabling their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) while fishing off the coast of Argentina. The penalties, worth a total of €1.5 million, are a result of an investigation led by environmental organization Oceana.

Oceana’s Findings

Oceana’s analysis of the vessels’ AIS data, shared with the Spanish Secretary-General for Fisheries and its Directorate-General for Merchant Shipping, revealed that these vessels had deactivated their AIS more than 1,200 times during at least 24 hours between 2018 and 2021. The AIS system transmits a vessel’s location, direction, and speed to promote transparency in fishing activity and ensure safety at sea.

• Number of Vessels: 25 Spanish-flagged fishing vessels
• Period: Between 2018 and 2021
• Incidents: Over 1,200 AIS deactivation events

Consequences for Disregarding the Rules

Ignacio Fresco Vanzini, Oceana’s advisor for illegal fishing and transparency in Europe, welcomed the Spanish administration’s decision to enforce accountability in the fishing sector. “Those who disregard the rules should face consequences, in this case, in the form of sanctions,” he said.

Extent of the Issue

According to Oceana’s report, around 90% of the 30 Spanish vessels analyzed had deactivated their AIS, and some vessels spent more time with the device off than on. Penalties range from €15,000 to €60,000 per vessel.

Data Collection and Urging Accountability

Oceana collected data from Global Fishing Watch, an independent nonprofit that provides open data for ocean governance, to identify and monitor the fishing vessels. The organization calls on other countries identified in their analysis, including China, South Korea, and Taiwan, to enforce existing rules, prioritize transparency, and protect fisher safety.

New Regulations

From January 2024, all vessels will be required to notify authorities before turning off the AIS under the new Fisheries Control Regulation. Any EU fishing vessel longer than 15 meters will need to comply with this requirement, as navigating without AIS is considered an infringement of EU and Spanish law.

Caveat

Oceana stresses that their fishing detection findings, including the term “fishing,” should be regarded as “apparent” due to the inherent limitations of the AIS data. The organization continues to work on making fishing activity designations as accurate as possible.