Satellite technology can increasingly track vessels across the world’s oceans and has the ability to detect industrial fishing inside marine protected areas (MPAs).
But new research has suggested that regulations governing these often vulnerable parts of our planet could be preventing global authorities from turning satellite detection into effective enforcement.
Led by researchers at the University of Plymouth, the study analysed the rules governing almost 10,000 MPAs covering parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania, as well as around 120 pieces of national legislation.
The aim was to assess whether the current wording of international regulations was supporting or restricting satellite-based enforcement, with authorities needing clear legal rules that specify how electronic evidence can be used.
However, the researchers found such clarity was not being provided in the vast majority of cases with only 4% of the legislation they examined containing specific reference to satellites and vessel tracking. Meanwhile, 61% of the legislation use discretionary wording such as “may” or “should”, while a third contain no references to clear prohibition.
Dr Fabio Favoretto, Lecturer in Marine Biology and Scientific Diving at the University of Plymouth, was the study’s lead author.
He said that at a time when nations are working towards the goal of protecting 30% of the global ocean by 2030, the findings highlight a disconnect between advances in monitoring technology and the regulations intended to protect the oceans.
Dr Favoretto said: “There are thousands of MPAs all over the world that have been introduced to protect our oceans, but most MPA rules were written for an era of patrol boats and eyewitnesses. We now live in a world where satellites have transformed how we observe the ocean and that includes revealing where, when and what a vessel was doing in a protected area. Now the monitoring technology is there, what is often missing are the regulations that allow authorities to act on it.”
The study was conducted in collaboration with the Institute of the Americas, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Navigante Strategies LLC, ProtectedSeas, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, and National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas programme.
Writing in the npj Ocean Sustainability journal, the researchers identify a series of practical changes they believe could make regulations more compatible with satellite monitoring.
These include replacing what they regard as ambiguous language with explicit prohibitions, defining precise restrictions and requiring more sophisticated vessel-tracking systems where appropriate.
They have also called for laws to clarify whether electronic monitoring data can support enforcement proceedings and recommended that governments review the wording of MPA regulations before making any future investments in satellite-monitoring systems.
They also highlight the importance of collaboration between scientists and legal experts in designing clear and enforceable regulations and estimate that implementing these and other changes could more than double countries’ ability to use satellite evidence for enforcement action.
The study’s senior author, Enric Sala, is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence and Executive Director of the National Geographic Pristine Seas programme, which has directly influenced the creation of more than 30 marine reserves globally.
He said: “Satellites can now see illegal fishing inside marine protected areas, but most rules aren't written in terms a satellite can prove. Rewriting them would more than double our ability to act on what we detect.”
npj Ocean Sustainability
Systematic review
Not applicable
Regulatory language limits satellite-based enforcement in marine protected areas
7-Oct-2026
The authors declare no competing interests.