Google is providing financial and engineering support for a project aimed at bringing down illegal fishing in different parts of the world.
The technology, called Global Fishing Watch, is being developed in collaboration with mapping company SkyTruth and marine-advocacy group Oceana, which presented the prototype on Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The public will be able to use this tool to see where fishing boats are operating, and the developers are hoping that governments and non-government organizations will be better able to figure out where illegal fishing is occurring.
Global Fishing Watch is able to map and show activity of over 25,000 ships from 2012 to 2013, thanks to satellite data from SkyTruth's software and data from SpaceQuest's satellites, The Verge reported. Activity that was deemed suspicious is highlighted on the map by orange and yellow dots.
Illegal fishing has had a severe impact on both the environment and the economy, with Oceana stating in a 2013 report that the activity costs between $10 billion and $23 billion in global losses each year.
"[T]he plan is that we will build out a public release version that will have near-real-time data," said Jackie Savitz, vice president for U.S. oceans at Oceana. "Then you'll actually be able to see someone out there fishing within hours to days."
The activity is causing problems for numerous countries with large ocean resources, such as the small Pacific nation Kiribati, which is looking to save resources by banning commercial fishing in its Phoenix Islands Protected Area starting Jan. 1, 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The developers are expected to spend $3 million to $5 million on the project, which is aimed towards a public release in 2015 or 2016.
Brian Sullivan from Google's Ocean and Earth Outreach program believes Global Fishing Watch will get illegal fishing to decline by rewarding those that obey fishing laws, according to The Verge.
"If people can pay a premium for responsibly harvested fish with confidence in the supply chain, that aligns the economic incentives in a powerful way," Sullivan said.
