Washington D.C., U.S.A.-based nonprofit Global Fishing Watch and Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based nonprofit lab for artificial intelligence (AI) Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) recently announced a partnership to bring technology and AI agents for ocean monitoring and enforcement efforts.
The two announced the new partnership in New York City, New York, U.S.A. at the Climate Week NYC 2026 conference, merging Global Fishing Watch's vessel monitoring expertise with Ai2's work on the Skylight maritime intelligence platform. The two will use satellite data to build new and real-time computer vision models using AI agents to detect patterns and find data sources with less human error.
“AI is fundamentally changing how we access information about our ocean and the human activity that takes place on it,” Global Fishing Watch Chief Executive Officer Tony Long said. “But the technology’s real value lies in its ability to get timely and actionable insights to those who can drive beneficial impact.”
In July 2022, Ai2 Senior Director of Conservatio Ted Schmitt told SeafoodSource about the ways technology could aid in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through vessel tracking. That work is continuing by deploying AI processes with maritime authorities' processes, eventually to a commercial scale. In January 2024, Global Fishing Watch highlighted that nearly 75 percent of the world's industrial fishing vessels were hidden from public view, making tracking processes harder. In September 2026, the organization released a "first-of-its-kind" best practices guide for vessel tracking.
“We are at an inflection point in deciding how AI enters the ocean space,” Skylight Head Namrata Kolla said. “Our maritime partners have made it clear that they care about having purpose-built AI where they own their own data, leverage open models, and decide what is the ‘right’ answer. Each step we take is pushing toward that vision.”
However, according to the release by Global Fishing Watch, the two organizations specified that human judgement will not be entirely replaced, but rather AI will be used in tandem with human oversight as a method of decision-making support. The technology will help identify risks and patterns, while humans can determine the signals and how to remedy.
“Our goal isn’t AI for AI’s sake. Our focus is on using technology to make the ocean more visible and give decision-makers the critical information they need to ultimately enable better decisions and drive impact,” Kolla said. “If we can make the extraordinary advances taking place in AI work for the ocean in an open and responsible way and with human oversight and at global scale, we can fundamentally change our ability to protect our planet’s most valuable resource.”
This partnership is the next in a series of projects the two organizations have collaborated on. In March 2026, Skylight built a Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) that went live on Global Fishing Watch's vessel tracking map and helped real-time detect vessel lights at night.
Under the most recent partnership announcement, the two organizations will use AI-agents already in use by Skylight, known as "Shippy," to analyze and deliver data collections. "Shippy" can assist users in learning about a vessel's history, activity, or patterns in possible marine protected areas (MPA). Ai2's planetary monitoring software, OlmoEarth, will also be used by Global Fishing Watch for data annotation and model development support to help the AI agents machine learn and finetune vessel monitoring efforts.
“By combining Ai2’s technological expertise with our data, platforms and partnerships around the world, we can accelerate the journey from detection to decision,” Long said. “This will give governments, civil society and ocean stewards faster, more powerful ways to understand what is happening at sea and protect the resources under their care.”
