Google has come up with some pretty awesome maps like Street View and Google Sky. Now it’s turning to a new market with Global Fishing Watch, a mapping service that enables people to track and share information about fishing all over the planet.

The efforts isn’t just for weekend anglers. Illegal fishing has become a huge problem worldwide. Not only is the cost to local economies exorbitant (billions of dollars per year), it’s also threatening the very existence of fishing communities around the world. But the even bigger worry is the alarming decline in world fish stocks, which could severely disrupt whole ecosystems.

According to the NOAA Fisheries, illegal fishing is the biggest threat to the conservation and sustainability of fish stocks. Google is stepping forward to try to thwart those who illegally plunder the oceans with the help of satellite mapping firm Skytruth and the non-profit ocean conservation group Oceana.

Global Fishing Watch is an entirely free platform and can be accessed by anyone. It uses satellites that normally track vessels via an installed Automatic Identification System (AIS). Using the tool, netizens can track various vessel’s movements in real-time, allowing them to pinpoint any suspicious fishing activity and report it to the relevant authorities.

“Global Fishing Watch will ultimately give citizens a simple, online platform to visualize, track and share information about fishing activity worldwide,” explains Oceana on its website.

This isn’t the first time Google has lent a helping hand to help protect endangered species around the world. It lavished $5 million on the World Wildlife Fund to help it track endangered rhinos in Africa.

So far, Global Fishing Watch has already compiled enough data to highlight all the fishing activity that took place in the world between 2012 and 2013. The data is important because illegal fishing affects more than 35 percent of the world’s marine fish stocks, according to Oceana. In addition to environmental changes, overfishing can exhaust ability to fish stocks to replenish themselves, ultimately leaving less food for humans to eat.

That’s not to say Global Fishing Watch is complete. The tool is still under development, and there are big challenges to overcome, such as tracking those vessels that don’t have AIS installed on board.

Nevertheless, poachers had better watch out. “With hundreds of millions of people around  the world depending on our ocean for their livelihoods, and many more relying on the ocean for food, ensuring the long-term sustainability of our ocean is a critical global priority,” writes Global Fishing Watch, “We need a tool that harnesses the power of citizen engagement to hold our leaders accountable for maintaining an abundant ocean.”

In other words, if there’s anything fishy going on, Google’s gonna know about it ;-)

Main image credit: dans le grand bleu via photopin cc