iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 06/04/2026

We've been thinking about packaging our ocean monitoring tools as a managed service for countries and MPAs — platform, training, recurring analysis. Working name: "Marine Manager Pro." From Paper Parks to Lasting Protection. Is that something people actually need? And who would pay for it?

GFW Marine Manager platform showing vessel activity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 03/06/2025

Apparently they also have a resident porcupine

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 03/06/2025

We spent a couple of hours watching a pair of beaver in a pond on the grounds of the Himalayan Institute in north eastern PA, apparently involved in a grueling grudge match with the grounds keepers over the appropriate height for the dam that blocks the outlet to their pond.

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 17/05/2025

We’re offering up to $10k for individuals and $20k for teams using our data to tackle key ocean research questions. Perhaps your research project will end up producing a something new to integrate into our public map! globalfishingwatch.org/open-ocean-r...

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 19/04/2025

The morels are back! Yum! Thanks to our lackadaisical gardening practices, we get these yummy treats coming up every other year in our front garden. I think maybe they like the roots of our redbud tree. #mushrooms

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 18/04/2025

New paper on ocean noise contributors in southern resident killer whale habitat in British Columbia and Washington State. Using our AIS data plus SAR detects to estimate the population of un-tracked vessels. Ro-ro ferries have the largest impact. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Fig. 1. Map of study area and geographic subregions. The inner dashed box corresponds to the study area. The outer dashed box corresponds to a buffer area for the sound map calculations, which encompasses the spatial coverage of the AIS data set. Intensity of SRKW occurrence in the study area is based on effort-corrected observation data collected from 2009 to 2020, inclusive, and is adapted with permission from Thornton et al. (2022).

Soundscape map of monthly-average SPL in the killer whale communication band for July 2022.

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 03/04/2025

@skollworldforum.bsky.social searching for a positive way forward following the collapse of Foreign Aid in the US. #skollwf @skollworldforum.bsky.social

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 28/03/2025

Our research teams honed in on vessels that broadcast their GPS positions using AIS, while leveraging satellite radar to detect vessels that have been absent from public monitoring systems until now. In 2023 alone, the analysis estimated that industrial vessels emitted approximately 1.3 billion tons

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 28/03/2025

The preliminary analysis—undertaken as part of our ongoing work under the Audacious prize to shed light on all human activity at sea, covered more than half a million vessels from 2016 to 2023.

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 26/03/2025

This is one of the early steps we are taking toward our TED Audacious promise to reveal "all human activity at sea". For mining exploration activity we have a simple model that identifies the exploration behavior and you can zoom in to see exactly where the exploration is happening

Screen shot of Deep Sea Mining Watch (beta) showing a list of minerals exploration vessels that are being tracked in and around lease blocks in the pacific

Screen shot of Deep Sea Mining Watch showing the track of recent activity by a Russian flagged exploration vessel

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 26/03/2025

Just got a preview of Deep Sea Mining Watch, a project we are doing with Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UCSB. Using our map tools to look at the activity of minerals exploration vessels instead of fishing vessels. You can overlay the planned mining lease blocks with the historic fishing.

Screen shot of the beta version of Deep Sea Mining Watch showing seabed mining lease block areas in the pacific ocean overlaid with the tracks of minerals exploration vessels

Screen shot of the beta version of Deep Sea Mining Watch showing seabed mining lease block areas in the pacific ocean overlaid with recent fishing activity

Screen shot of the Clarion-Clipperton mining area with a time series graph of mineral exploration vessel activity

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 06/03/2025

We did an internal analysis of our data showing that for most of the industrial fishing activity (in terms of hours of effort) we have no idea who the beneficial owner is. We need to do better

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 21/02/2025

🪸 Marine biodiversity is fundamental to a healthy and resilient ocean. 🌊 #GlobalFishingWatch is working with @dbphilanthropy.bsky.social and partners to help protect biodiversity through #MPAs and other management tools. Learn more. buff.ly/3EHbmGp

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 21/02/2025

🌍 The Republic of Madagascar is among a growing number of countries who are using technology to fight illegal fishing. 🇲🇬 Our recent training helped demonstrate how the #GlobalFishingWatch platform can be used to better assess fishing effort over time. buff.ly/3EKyDXN

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 19/02/2025

🌊 When rogue fishers are held to account, shifts in behavior can occur. ⛴️ Chilean authorities recently fined 21 vessels for non-compliance during a closed fishing season, leading to no infractions next season. Learn how we supported this key outcome. buff.ly/41jrNBk

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 07/01/2025

We are starting interviews for our new Senior Scientist, Head of Research Impact role. We have 105 candidates on the recruiting "short list", so this might take a while😅. Applications close tomorrow, so share if you know someone we should be talking to. job-boards.greenhouse.io/globalfishin...

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 07/01/2025

Two weeks ago I said "hey we should use this crazy new map projection" and today there is python code! Showing here global vessel presence density (from AIS) using the spilhaus projection in a single view where you can see the whole ocean.

Global vessel presence map using Spilhaus projection

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 03/01/2025

Update: looks like the NO is produced in the sinus and humming causes air to vibrate in and out of the sinus cavity releasing it into the nasal passage. Here is a paper from 2002 where this effect was studied. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12119224/

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 03/01/2025

TIL that humming is therapeutic! Apparently your sinuses produce nitric oxide which helps regulate blood flow in your nose and is also anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Humming releases NO from your sinus due to the air vibration. Now I just have to figure out what tune to hum ...

Pubmed: Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide. Eddie Weitzberg et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002. Abstract
The paranasal sinuses are major producers of nitric oxide (NO). We hypothesized that oscillating airflow produced by humming would enhance sinus ventilation and thereby increase nasal NO levels. Ten healthy subjects took part in the study. Nasal NO was measured with a chemiluminescence technique during humming and quiet single-breath exhalations at a fixed flow rate. NO increased 15-fold during humming compared with quiet exhalation. In a two-compartment model of the nose and sinus, oscillating airflow caused a dramatic increase in gas exchange between the cavities. Obstruction of the sinus ostium is a central event in the pathogenesis of sinusitis. Nasal NO measurements during humming may be a useful noninvasive test of sinus NO production and ostial patency. In addition, any therapeutic effects of the improved sinus ventilation caused by humming should be investigated.

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 01/01/2025

Apple Cinnamon Kombucha! Starting off 2025 with a batch of my new winter favorite. Apple and cinnamon stick, with a little bit of ginger, nutmeg and honey. Hoping this will help get the year off to a good start while we indulge in a little escapism by avoiding the news today. Cheers!

Ingredients for a new batch of Apple Cinnamon Kombucha

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 17/12/2024

Random map of the day. Fishing gear with AIS transponders from vessels flagged to Taiwan.

Activity of vessels using MMSI Prefix 98, Indicating "Craft associated with a parent vessel" Taiwan flag

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 16/12/2024

🚨 Global Fishing Watch welcomes the UN General Assembly's adoption of a resolution on sustainable fisheries, calling it a critical step forward in making transparency the standard practice in ocean and fisheries management. Full statement - buff.ly/4ivDTy1

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 15/12/2024

Now hiring - Data Quality Analyst. Apply now to join our growing, all-remote engineering team, having fun with data while helping to save the oceans. Working with satellite remote sensing and machine learning models. #jobs #hiring #fisheries #dataquality #remotejob #analyst buff.ly/3Di4gqX

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 08/12/2024

This just in from Luca Marsaglia, one of our many analysts based in Europe. A snapshot of the temporal fishing closures across Italy from August to November, visualized on the Global Fishing Watch map using AIS data. See his post on linkedin: buff.ly/3ZIxrML

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 29/11/2024

This is a key part of the grand challenge that we set for ourselves in the Open Ocean Project, making open free data for ocean conservation something that governments, NGOs and the people whose lives depend on healthy oceans can count on to be there for the long haul. buff.ly/3OAIjpi

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 29/11/2024

And now here we are looking ahead to the next decade, contemplating how to make our open data feeds more lasting and durable, learning how to become what our friends at @odihq.bsky.social call a Data Institution. buff.ly/41bVEw8

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 29/11/2024

At the time I don't think myself or anyone else at @skytruth.bsky.social, @oceana.bsky.social or Rebecca Moore's team at Google could have imagined what we would eventually build together.

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Paul Woods @paulwoods.io · 24/11/2024

Really happy to receive a signed copy of The High Seas from @oliveheffernan.bsky.social. This is an excellent roadmap of the challenges we need to address in our largest global commons buff.ly/491u7PR

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