VOA慢速英语2015 新技术阻止海上非法捕鱼

New Technology Stops Illegal Fishing on the Seas 新技术阻止海上非法捕鱼

Experts estimate¹ that one out of every five fish sold was caught illegally. They say the illegal fishing market is worth $23.5 billion a year. It threatens food security² and hurts the environment.

Officials are using new observational technology to fight illegal fishing.

“Hello to everybody. Thank you for taking the time to join us here in Harwell (UK) in the Operations Center to what we call ‘Project Eyes on the Seas.’”

That is Tony Long. He leads the Ending Illegal Fishing program for Pew Charitable Trusts. The group created Project Eyes on the Seas. Large three-dimensional images of a globe can be seen on a video that plays behind him. 

“It looks different from what you might expect because this globe only shows you the vessels³ (boats) that are coming into this system from a live automated⁴ information system or AIS.”

The screen shows there are 120,000 fishing boats that have AIS. They are required to have the technology. But those who are fishing illegally often turn it off. The technology does not tell observers⁵ when that happens. Project Eyes on the Seas combines satellite information with secret government records on every ship’s past activities.

“The same system the fishing vessels use to predict where the fish are going to be, we can bring that environmental source into this data.”

Mr. Long says that permits investigators⁶ to understand exactly where the fishing boats are operating.

The Pew team gives the information it gathers to port officials to help them decide if they should take action against a ship.

Tony Long says he would like to be able to provide port officials all over the world with clear lists. They would inform the officials about ships to inspect, ships to bar from entrance, and ships to permit entrance for trade activities.

The Pacific island nation of Palau was an early user⁷ of the technology. Palau has one of the richest fishing areas in the world, and wants to protect it. Last year, it announced a plan to ban commercial fishing in a 630,000 square kilometer area.

K.B. Sakuma is a special adviser⁸ to the president of Palau. He says Palau is trying to deal with a recent increase in illegal, unsupervised and unreported fishing.

“And it’s come to a head in the last year or two, where [from] our southern island in the evening you can see on the horizon just dotted lights of these illegal fishermen that come into our waters, fill their holds with our fish, our resources, our food security…”

Mr. Sakuma hopes the information from the project will help Palau fight fishing piracy⁹.

Project Eyes on the Seas is also watching waters near Easter Island in Chile. 

Tony Long expects that the system will support fisheries and markets that want to guarantee their products are gathered legally.

Words in This Story

globe – n. an object that is shaped like a large ball with a map of the world on it

automated – adj. to be  operated by machine, computer, etc., instead of by humans

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate¹⁰, analyze¹¹, or plan something

commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services

come to a head – idiom to reach a critical point

1 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

2 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

5 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

10 calculate   

vt.计算，核算；估计，推测；计划，打算

参考例句：

• He must calculate the probability of failure.他必须计算一下失败的概率。
• I'll calculate what it will cost.我要估计一下那要花多少钱。

11 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。