Report | December 4, 2025

Keeping fishing vessels visible: why enforcing AIS is critical to combat illegal fishing

The intentional disabling of Automatic Identification System (AIS) devices installed on fishing vessels is a widespread problem in global and EU fisheries control. Previous investigations have shown that some fishing vessels routinely turn off these location transmitters to hide their movements, often in sensitive areas such as marine protected areas or the waters of third countries. Despite legal obligations to maintain continuous AIS transmission in the interest of maritime safety, AIS ‘switch-offs’ by EU fishing vessels remain common. However, few cases to date have ever resulted in sanctions.