New Approaches for Investigating Environmental Crimes in the Ocean

Seas and oceans cover more than two-thirds of the planet, yet remain among the least regulated and under-monitored spaces on the planet. Weak oversight, fragmented jurisdictions, and vast unpatrolled areas create conditions where environmental crimes, from illegal fishing to wildlife trafficking, continue largely out of sight.

At the 14th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC25), speakers from around the world spoke at a panel entitled “Innovative Methodologies for Uncovering Environmental Crimes in the Ocean” to outline practical methodologies that reporters can use to investigate crimes at sea, even when evidence is limited and documentation is incomplete.

Maria Dalby of GRID-Arendal explains how jurisdictional loopholes are exploited by criminal networks on the open ocean. Image: Alyaa Abdul Aziz Alhadjri for GIJN

Why the Ocean Is So Vulnerable

Maria Dalby, head of media relations for GRID-Arendal, a Norwegian environmental organization, explained that maritime crime thrives where governance is weakest. With overlapping regimes and few enforcement mechanisms, criminal networks exploit the gaps.

She highlighted two major global treaties that will reshape future reporting:

1. Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) Treaty: It introduced environmental impact assessments and governance mechanisms for the high seas.
2. Global Plastics Treaty: The negotiations are still ongoing, and it is expected to introduce traceability requirements and new obligations for waste exporters.

Both treaties, she said, will create fresh opportunities for investigative journalists to track how governments and corporations adapt, or fail to comply, with emerging rules.

Investigating Ocean Crime Through What’s Missing

One of the most replicable methods shared came from Daniela Castro, formerly of OCCRP. She presented a cross-border shark-fin trafficking investigation that began with a press release announcing an illicit shark fin trade seizure in Colombia. What stood out was not what officials disclosed, but what they left out. Key elements like the exporter’s identity, permit details, and the legality of the shipment were absent from official statements.

Each of these omissions became a lead for Castro. By combining elements of a previous leak, Narco Files, with public business registries and corporate filings, Castro’s team identified the exporter, whose legal representative was the son of a former Cali Cartel leader.

“You have to build your own record. Government documents alone will not give you the truth,” she said. In maritime crime, she added, these unexplained gaps in documentation often point to where illegal activity is hidden. Her approach is widely applicable beyond wildlife trafficking.

Building a FOIA Matrix

One of Castro’s most useful tools was a structured FOIA matrix. Over nine months, the team filed more than 45 information requests to Colombian agencies, including fisheries authorities, tax and customs offices, and maritime regulators.

Castro’s team created a structured spreadsheet to keep track of the FOIA requests, listing each agency, the objective of the request, and the responses received. This system became essential to stay aligned with the story’s goals over nine months of reporting.

FOIA responses, combined with on-the-ground reporting in Colombia, Venezuela, and Hong Kong, allowed the team to piece together key elements of the shipment and identify gaps in the company’s permits. Castro emphasized that this kind of multi-agency request strategy is replicable for many cross-border ocean investigations.

Hybrid Ocean Forensics: AIS Meets Social Media

Indonesian reporter Abdus Somad of Jaring.id presented a complementary methodology: combining AIS vessel tracking with open source reporting from local communities.

Somad started with AIS (Automatic Identification System) data, but warned that illegal operators often turn off transponders, spoof their location, or make suspicious course changes. “When the AIS signal disappears, that’s when the real investigation starts,” he said.

That is why Somad uses a multi-layered verification process:

• Cross-check AIS data across multiple platforms (Global Fishing Watch, MarineTraffic, FleetMon, VesselFinder).
• Examine satellite imagery to corroborate suspicious vessel behavior.
• Search TikTok, Facebook, and try to enter WhatsApp groups used by local fishermen, who often upload videos of landings, transshipments, and foreign vessels operating near their waters.
• Contact eyewitnesses directly for additional confirmation.
• Tracing vessel ownership through databases like Equasis to identify companies, addresses, and politically exposed persons.

This hybrid digital-community model helps reporters fill gaps in data and document illegal fishing operations even in remote areas.

Indonesian reporter Abdus Somad of Jaring.id discusses combining AIS vessel tracking with open source reporting from local communities at GIJC25. Image: Alyaa Abdul Aziz Alhadjri for GIJN

New Treaties, New Story Opportunities

Returning to the broader picture, Dalby encouraged journalists to follow how countries might implement the BBNJ and the future Global Plastics treaties. Issues ripe for investigation include:

• Environmental impact assessments for activities like deep-sea mining tests.
• Monitoring of high-seas protected areas that may only exist on paper.
• Plastic waste shipment declared as “recyclable” but dumped abroad.
• Traceability rules requiring companies to show where their plastics end up.
• Contradictions between treaty commitments and domestic policies.

These emerging frameworks will shape ocean governance for years, offering reporters new entry points for investigations.

Starting Points for Ocean Reporters

The session offered a set of clear starting points for reporters:

• Track suspicious vessel behavior using multiple AIS platforms.
• Combine digital tools with local networks, especially fishermen and coastal communities.
• Map the legal and corporate actors behind vessels using IMO numbers and company registries.
• Use a structured FOIA matrix to gather information from multiple agencies.
• Treat missing information, absent names, vague permits, unexplained routes, as investigative leads.
• Build cross-border collaborations when following transnational maritime crimes.

Environmental crime at sea remains underreported, but the tools and strategies presented at GIJC25 show that even in the world’s least governed spaces, evidence can be found, and stories can be told.