Imagine your fishing fleet burns through enormous amounts of fuel searching for tuna across vast oceans — each boat going its own way based on gut feeling. This project built a smart system that combines satellite ocean data with machine learning to coordinate an entire fleet at once, telling captains exactly where to go and when. Think of it like Waze for fishing boats, except instead of avoiding traffic, it finds the fish and plans the most fuel-efficient routes. The result is the same catch with dramatically less fuel, fewer emissions, and lower costs.
Tuna fishing fleets burn massive amounts of fuel because each vessel searches independently across vast ocean areas, with no coordinated intelligence on where fish are or how to optimize fleet-wide routes. This individual-ship approach leaves enormous efficiency gains untapped while fuel costs keep rising and environmental regulations tighten.
The project built MarineView, a fleet coordination platform that fuses Copernicus satellite ocean data with machine learning and optimization algorithms to generate daily operational recommendations for entire fishing fleets. A working demo was tested with the commercial fishing company Echebastar and other potential clients.
If you are a tuna fleet operator dealing with rising fuel costs and unpredictable catch locations — this project developed MarineView, a fleet-wide coordination tool using satellite ocean data and machine learning that targets fuel and cost savings of 25% to 40% per fleet. Instead of each vessel searching independently, the system optimizes routes and fishing zones across your entire fleet.
If you are a marine technology company looking to add data-driven services to your portfolio — this project built commercialized tools at TRL 6-7 level that fuse Copernicus Earth observation data with optimization algorithms. The system is already being tested with real clients like Echebastar, and the consortium offers shared royalty licensing schemes for distribution through partner networks.
If you are a seafood buyer needing to prove your supply chain is environmentally sustainable — this project provides verifiable data on reduced fuel consumption and emissions from fishing operations. With EU regulations tightening on sustainable sourcing, fleet-level optimization data gives you documented evidence of lower environmental impact from your tuna suppliers.
The project objective states expected fuel and cost savings of 25% to 40% per fisheries fleet. These savings come from coordinating vessel movements fleet-wide using satellite data and machine learning, rather than each ship searching independently.
The project targeted TRL 6-7 level tools and produced a working demo of algorithms in MarineView, tested by Echebastar and other potential clients. As an Innovation Action (IA) that ran from 2020-2024, it was designed for near-market deployment, not basic research.
Based on available project data, the consortium uses shared royalty schemes while individual partners keep their own intellectual property rights. Commercialization happens through the industrial partners' existing client networks, meaning licensing would go through specific consortium members.
The system uses Copernicus Earth observation satellite data combined with in-situ sensor data from vessels. It applies machine learning and optimization algorithms to this combined data to generate daily operational recommendations for fleet coordination.
The EU requires fishing to be environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socially sustainable. The system directly supports compliance by reducing fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining catches, providing documented evidence of sustainable operations.
The consortium includes 8 partners across 5 countries with 4 industrial partners, including the coordinator Marine Instruments SA (Spain), a private company specializing in marine technology. The mix of 2 research institutions and 2 universities provided scientific expertise while industrial partners focused on market-ready product development.
The 8-partner consortium across 5 countries (Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, UK) is well-balanced for commercialization with a 50/50 split between industry and research. Marine Instruments SA, the Spanish coordinator, is an established private company (not an SME) in marine technology — meaning they have the scale and sales channels to bring products to market. The inclusion of 4 industrial partners alongside 2 universities and 2 research organizations means the science was built with commercial application in mind from the start. The shared royalty model and preserved individual IP rights suggest the consortium is structured to actually sell, not just publish papers.
Marine Instruments SA (Spain) — contact via SciTransfer for introduction to the project coordinator
Want to explore how satellite-driven fleet optimization could cut your fuel costs? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the SUSTUNTECH team and help you evaluate fit for your fleet operations.
