Leonardo DiCaprio Unveils Technology for Keeping Track of Global Fishing Practices

Oscar award winning actor, Leonardo Di Caprio recently unveiled free technology that would allow its users to spy on global fishing practices across the globe. All this in hopes of stopping illegal activity happening in the oceans.

The new, free technology is called Global Fishing Watch, which was released during the Our Ocean Conference last Thursday and Friday. It was hosted by the US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington.

A result of the partnership between SkyTruth, Google, and Oceana, the Global Fishing Watch is the first ever tech platform that allows literally anyone with an internet connection to track and see global fishing activity, including commercial fishing vessels, all in real-time.

With the help of the tech, users can visualize, track, and measure real-time and historical global fishing activity. In addition, the tech allows users to view exclusive economic zones, individual vessel tracks, and marine protected areas.

"It gives the public an opportunity to see what is happening, even out in the middle of the ocean. We need the public to be engaged to convince governments and convince the seafood industry that they need to solve the problems of overfishing. If you can't see it and can't measure it, you are not going to care about it and it is not going to get solved," stated John Amos, the president and founder of SkyTruth.

DiCaprio had funded $6 million for the technology with the help of his foundation back in January. Reports state that the project cost approximately $10.3 million. Other funders for the tech include The Wyss Foundation, Adessium Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Marisla Foundation, and the Waterloo Foundation.

Global Fishing Watch can help drive innovation and engage citizens to help rebuild the oceans. Creators of the tech hope it would help in promoting healthier oceans and create effective policies regarding fishing around the world.