Fishing Vessel Tracker

What the fishing-vessel filter actually selects

The button opens the vessel map with the fishing category selected. A loaded record enters this category when its numeric AIS ship type is 30. The filter does not search a boat's name for fishing-related words, estimate its occupation from speed, or promote an unknown type because a descriptive label looks plausible. A record can have a useful position and still be missing the numeric type needed for this view. Such a record remains outside the category rather than receiving an invented classification.

The US Coast Guard's AIS encoding guide describes type 30 and notes that the category can include fish processors and tenders. That breadth matters: a fishing-type report does not identify gear, species, catch, licence or current fishing effort. The map keeps the underlying reported type separate from those unanswered questions. Incorrect or incomplete transmitted metadata can still affect the result.

Type 30 and navigation status 7 are different fields

A ship type describes a category, while a navigation status describes a separately reported state. The AIS position-message reference lists navigation status 7 as engaged in fishing. This page's filter uses type 30, not status 7. A type-30 vessel can be travelling or moored, and a navigation-status value can be stale or incorrectly entered. Neither field alone establishes exactly what a vessel is doing at a particular place and time.

Before comparing positions, open a report and retain the MMSI, raw type, source and observation time. Read position age independently of the time you loaded the website. A slow movement or a gap between reports does not supply missing information about nets, gear deployment or catch. PocketWorld does not calculate an apparent-fishing-effort model or turn a sequence of points into an enforcement conclusion.

United States: AIS is separate from NOAA fisheries VMS

NOAA Fisheries describes its Vessel Monitoring System as a satellite-based system supporting fisheries monitoring and enforcement, with confidentiality requirements for its data. That is a different system from the public AIS reports used here. The PocketWorld filter does not access confidential VMS positions, catch declarations or an enforcement officer's assessment. A source link to NOAA explains the distinction; it does not make the map a NOAA tracking product.

For questions around Alaska, New England or the US West Coast, identify the relevant source and time interval before comparing two maps. Different receivers, fleets, reporting arrangements and aggregation methods can produce different visible patterns. The matching counter here describes the current loaded set, not the size of a regional fishing fleet or the number of vessels actively harvesting. Use the US vessel identity guide to distinguish an AIS record from a registry or programme entry.

Canada: DFO monitoring and public map observations

Fisheries and Oceans Canada's National Vessel Monitoring System receives satellite position information for its own monitoring purposes. It describes registration and programme requirements separately from AIS. This public category map does not import those positions or determine whether a particular fishing licence requires participation. An AIS marker therefore cannot confirm compliance with a licence condition, and its absence cannot establish non-compliance.

Canadian programme context can also vary by fishery and region. DFO's Gulf Region VMS overview is a programme-specific source, rather than a public list of every fishing trip. When examining Atlantic Canada, British Columbia or the Great Lakes, keep the coordinate separate from the flag metadata used by the country filter. A Canadian flag field is not a geographic test for Canadian waters. The Canadian AIS coverage guide provides context for receiving gaps and incomplete public observations.

Use gaps and boundaries as questions, not conclusions

The loaded data can omit vessels because a provider has no usable report or because numeric type metadata is missing. Shore and satellite reception have different limitations, and the map's current viewport can show fewer markers than the filtered loaded count. Check those explanations before interpreting an empty area. In particular, no report does not prove that a vessel disabled its equipment, crossed a closed area or carried out illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing.

This view does not overlay authoritative, time-valid fishing closures or assess an exclusive economic zone crossing. A position near a boundary would require the correct boundary version, timestamp and other evidence before an activity could be assessed. Use the general vessel map for a broader name or MMSI search in available reports, or the pleasure and sailing guide for different reported types. The useful result here is a clearly sourced fishing-type observation, with its uncertainty preserved.