Master of Environmental Data Science
Year
2025

Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Global Seafood Production

Faculty Advisors
Gavin McDonald
Clients
UCSB Environmental Markets Lab (emLab) , Global Fishing Watch
Deliverables

Proposal

Fisherman boat on the sea with birds behind during sunset
Description

Global fisheries are heavily reliant on fossil fuels, contributing significantly to the rise in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions driving climate change. While satellite technology is commonly used to monitor land-based emissions, studies estimating ocean-based emissions remain limited, particularly in the fishing sector. In collaboration with the Environmental Markets Lab (emLab) and Global Fishing Watch (GFW), this project will leverage novel, high-resolution satellite-based datasets to provide precise insights into the GHG emissions associated with global fisheries. We will develop a reproducible, extensible, and open-source data processing pipeline to connect emissions data with seafood production data in an interactive dashboard. Our findings will enable novel research opportunities, and offer actionable data to identify major GHG contributors and could enable new policy and market-based interventions to reduce fisheries-related emissions at scale.