About This Project
Understanding the Pribilof Zone, critical halibut habitat, and the purpose of this vessel tracking analysis.
🐟 About the Name: Chagix̂.fish
Chagix̂ (pronounced "cha-GEEKH") is the Unangan Aleut word for halibut.
Cultural Significance
For the Unangan people of St. Paul and St. George Islands, halibut (chagix̂) holds profound cultural and subsistence importance:
- Traditional Food Source: Halibut has sustained Pribilof communities for generations, providing essential nutrition and food security
- Cultural Identity: Subsistence fishing for halibut is integral to Unangan cultural practices and traditional knowledge
- Intergenerational Knowledge: Fishing techniques, preparation methods, and knowledge of halibut behavior are passed down through families
- Community Sharing: Halibut harvests are shared within communities, strengthening social bonds and ensuring elders and families have access to traditional foods
- Connection to Place: The waters around the Pribilof Islands are not just fishing grounds—they are part of the Unangan homeland and cultural landscape
This website is named Chagix̂.fish to honor the cultural significance of halibut to the Unangan people and to recognize that the vessel activity documented here occurs in waters that have sustained Pribilof communities for countless generations.
📍 What is the "Pribilof Zone"?
Important: The "Pribilof Zone" is not an official regulatory boundary. It is a 100-nautical-mile radius analysis area defined for this project to study vessel activity in critical halibut habitat.
The Pribilof Zone encompasses waters within a 100nm radius of the Pribilof Islands (St. Paul and St. George).
This area overlaps with International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) regulatory areas 4A, 4C, and 4D.
Why This Area?
This zone was selected because it represents:
- Critical Halibut Habitat: Waters where halibut travel, migrate, and feed in documented heavy numbers
- Commercial Documentation: Extensive commercial catch records demonstrate significant halibut presence
- Subsistence Documentation: Long-standing subsistence fishing by St. Paul and St. George communities confirms halibut abundance
- Transit Corridors: Migration routes to and from IPHC Zone 4C and surrounding areas
Key Point: The documented presence of halibut in this zone, through both commercial and subsistence catches over many years, establishes this as critical habitat that warrants monitoring and analysis.
🐟 Why This Matters
Communities Affected
This zone is critical habitat for:
- People of St. Paul and St. George: The Pribilof Islands communities who depend on halibut for subsistence and cultural continuity
- Halibut Quota Holders: Commercial fishermen who hold Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs) and Community Development Quotas (CDQs) in IPHC areas 4A, 4C, and 4D
- Future Generations: Ensuring sustainable halibut populations for those who will inherit these fishing rights and traditions
- Regional Fisheries: Commercial halibut operations throughout the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Documented Halibut Presence
The importance of this zone is supported by:
- Decades of commercial halibut catch data from IPHC
- Subsistence harvest records from St. Paul and St. George
- Scientific research on halibut migration patterns
- Local knowledge passed down through generations of fishermen
📊 Purpose of This Project
This is not an anti-fishing project. We believe there is more than enough room in the Bering Sea for everyone to coexist sustainably.
The Bering Sea is vast, and there is room for large-scale longline operations and smaller-scale fisheries to work together. This website documents vessel activity to foster understanding and collaboration, not conflict.
Our Goal: Coexistence and Collaboration
We believe that mega longliners and smaller fishing operations—including subsistence fishermen, small boat halibut quota holders, and community-based fisheries—can coexist successfully. The key is transparency and awareness:
- Shared Waters: The Bering Sea has abundant resources and space for multiple fishing operations
- Minimize Conflicts: Large-scale operations should avoid areas critical to subsistence users and small-scale fisheries
- Protect Access: Ensuring smaller vessels can access traditional fishing grounds without disruption from mega longline operations
- Sustainable Coexistence: All fisheries—large and small—benefit from healthy halibut populations and well-managed fishing grounds
What This Project Provides
- Transparency: Make vessel activity data publicly accessible so everyone can see where large-scale operations are concentrated
- Awareness: Help smaller fishing operations understand fishing pressure in different areas
- Collaboration: Create a foundation for dialogue between large-scale operators, small boat fishermen, and communities
- Fairness: Support equitable access to fishing grounds for subsistence users and small quota holders
- Conservation: Promote sustainable management that benefits all stakeholders and future generations
Bycatch Concerns
While these large-scale longline operations may have bycatch avoidance programs and release protocols, the reality is that any halibut hooked is one too many. Here's why:
- Scale of Operations: These vessels deploy miles of longline gear every day, with thousands of hooks
- Hook Time: Even when released alive, halibut may have been on the hook for hours on the bottom, fighting and under extreme stress
- Survival Uncertainty: There is no guarantee that halibut survive after being dehooked and released, despite best efforts
- Cumulative Impact: The sheer volume of gear deployed means even low bycatch rates can affect significant numbers of halibut
- Critical Habitat: This occurs in waters where halibut are essential to subsistence users and small quota holders
Our goal is to ensure that smaller operations, subsistence fishermen, and Pribilof communities can access these waters and resources without their fishing grounds being disrupted by extensive longline gear, and to raise awareness about the cumulative impact of large-scale operations on halibut populations that sustain local communities.
What This Project IS:
- A call for coexistence and collaboration between all fishing operations
- Documentation of observable vessel activity to promote transparency
- A resource showing mega-longliners where they should avoid to allow smaller boats and local communities access to traditional fishing grounds
- Support for equitable access to fishing grounds
What This Project IS NOT:
- Anti-fishing or opposed to commercial operations
- An accusation of illegal activity
- A determination of "overfishing" (a specific regulatory term)
🔍 Data Sources & Methodology
AIS Tracking Data
Source: Global Fishing Watch, Inc.
License: CC BY-NC 4.0 (non-commercial use)
Coverage: 2012-2024
Classification Methodology
"Apparent Fishing" is defined as vessel positions where:
- Speed ≤ 5 knots (consistent with longline gear deployment)
- Harbor exclusion zones applied (vessels near ports excluded)
- Per Global Fishing Watch requirements: qualified as "apparent" not certain
Understanding the Scale of Operations
Our "apparent fishing" classification (speed ≤5 knots) is conservative. Documentary evidence shows these vessels fish continuously regardless of speed or weather conditions, meaning our data likely underestimates the true extent of fishing activity.
Data Limitations
Important Limitations to Understand:
- AIS Gaps: Not all vessel positions are transmitted or received
- Coverage: Actual vessel presence may be higher than documented
- Speed Classification: Our ≤5 knot threshold is conservative; actual fishing occurs at higher speeds too
- Continuous Operations: These vessels fish 24/7 in all weather - our data captures only what AIS transmits
- Equipment Issues: AIS transmitters can fail or be turned off for legitimate reasons
The data presented represents conservative minimum estimates based on observable AIS transmissions.
📡 AIS Transmission: Benefits & Current Limitations
Why AIS Matters
Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmission provides critical benefits for maritime operations:
- Vessel Monitoring: Real-time tracking of vessel locations and movements
- Safety at Sea: Collision avoidance and emergency response coordination
- Vessel Avoidance: Helps other vessels navigate safely around fishing operations
- Gear Entanglement Prevention: Allows vessels to avoid areas with deployed fishing gear
- Fisheries Management: Supports sustainable management through activity documentation
Current Regulatory Gap
AIS is Not Currently Mandatory for All Fishing Vessels
As of 2025, AIS transmission is not required for all commercial fishing vessels. This creates significant gaps in vessel monitoring and safety systems.
The Reality of AIS Gaps
AIS transmission gaps occur for multiple reasons:
- Equipment Malfunction: Technical failures can interrupt transmission
- Intentional Shutdown: Some vessels turn off AIS transmitters, though specific intent cannot be proven
- No Requirement: Vessels not required to transmit may choose not to install or operate AIS
- Coverage Limitations: Remote areas may have reception gaps even when vessels are transmitting
The Case for Mandatory AIS:
With modern satellite internet technology like Starlink now widely available and affordable, there is no technical barrier to requiring AIS transmission on large fishing vessels operating in the Bering Sea. Nearly every large vessel either has or is capable of obtaining reliable internet connectivity, making continuous AIS transmission entirely feasible.
Mandatory AIS requirements for fishing vessels over a certain size would:
- Improve maritime safety for all vessels
- Enhance fisheries management and enforcement
- Protect fishing gear from entanglement
- Support sustainable resource management
- Provide transparency for communities affected by fishing operations
Note: This project can only document activity when AIS is transmitting. Actual vessel presence and fishing activity may be significantly higher than what is shown in this data.
⚖️ Legal & Factual Disclaimers
Regulatory Context
- The vessels tracked in this system are licensed to operate in federal waters
- This project does not claim any vessels are operating illegally
- The Pribilof Zone is an analytical boundary, not a closed area or sanctuary
- Fishing activity shown is "apparent" based on observable behavior, not confirmed catches
Terminology
This project uses careful language to remain factually accurate:
- "Apparent fishing" = Speed patterns consistent with fishing operations
- "Documented activity" = Observable AIS positions
- "Fishing vessel intensity" = Concentration and frequency of vessel presence
- "Critical halibut habitat" = Areas with documented halibut presence through catches
Attribution Requirement:
Per Global Fishing Watch requirements, all vessel fishing activity is qualified as "apparent" rather than certain due to inherent limitations in source data. This project adheres to those requirements and presents data conservatively.
👥 Who This Is For
This resource is intended for:
- Pribilof Islands Communities: St. Paul and St. George residents monitoring activity in their traditional waters
- Halibut Quota Holders: IFQ and CDQ holders in IPHC areas 4A, 4C, and 4D
- Subsistence Fishermen: Those who depend on halibut for food security
- Fisheries Managers: IPHC, NMFS, and state agencies making management decisions
- Researchers: Scientists studying vessel operations and marine ecosystems
- Advocates: Organizations working on sustainable fisheries and community rights
- General Public: Anyone interested in understanding fishing operations in Alaskan waters
🔗 Additional Resources
Important: This is an independent site using publicly available data. The organizations listed below have no affiliation with this project.
⚖️ Legal Disclaimer
Purpose of This Website
This website is an independent public interest project that documents and analyzes publicly available vessel tracking data in the Bering Sea. The purpose is to promote transparency, support informed policy discussions, and advocate for the sustainable coexistence of large-scale and small-scale fishing operations in waters critical to Pribilof Islands communities.
No Claims of Illegal Activity
This website makes no claims that any vessel, company, or individual is engaged in illegal activity. All vessels documented on this site are presumed to be operating lawfully under applicable federal and state regulations. The presence of a vessel in the documented data does not imply any wrongdoing.
Data Sources and Accuracy
All vessel tracking data is sourced from Global Fishing Watch, Inc., used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Per Global Fishing Watch requirements, all fishing activity is qualified as "apparent" rather than certain due to inherent limitations in AIS data. We present this data conservatively and acknowledge it may underestimate actual vessel activity.
Advocacy and Opinion
This website contains both factual data presentation and advocacy for policy changes. Statements of opinion, analysis, and advocacy are clearly identified and represent the views of the site operators. We advocate for:
- Transparency in vessel operations in public waters
- Protection of critical halibut habitat
- Equitable access to fishing grounds for subsistence users and small-scale fisheries
- Sustainable coexistence of all fishing operations
Fair Use and Attribution
Documentary quotes and industry statements are used for purposes of commentary, criticism, and public interest advocacy under fair use principles. All sources are properly attributed.
Protected Speech
This website exercises rights protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, including freedom of speech and the right to petition for redress of grievances. The content represents advocacy for Indigenous subsistence rights, small-scale fishermen, and sustainable resource management in the Bering Sea.
No Business Relationships
This is an independent project with no affiliation to any fishing company, regulatory agency, or commercial entity. Organizations mentioned on this site have no relationship with this project unless explicitly stated.
Changes and Updates
This website may be updated as new data becomes available or as advocacy positions evolve. The "Last Updated" date on each page indicates when content was last modified.
Contact and Concerns
This website is intended to foster constructive dialogue about sustainable fisheries management. We welcome factual corrections and are committed to accuracy in data presentation.
Protecting critical halibut habitat for the people of St. Paul and St. George,
for halibut quota holders, and for future generations.
Last updated: November 10, 2025
Data Coverage: This analysis uses AIS tracking data from 2012-2024, with some vessels tracked through early 2025. Vessel operational status may have changed since data collection. Some vessels documented here may no longer be in active service in the longline cod fishery.