Outlaw Oceans Project Databases

I came across this recently: the Outlaw Oceans Project, a Washington-based journalism non-profit that publishes stories about human rights, labour and environmental issues on the high seas:

"More than 50 million people work offshore. Roughly 80 percent of the goods we consume reach us by way of the sea. Half the air we breathe comes from the oceans. And yet, this realm is home to a variety of urgent concerns that go largely overlooked by most news outlets because it is too costly, too dangerous and too time consuming to report on them. These concerns include the murder of stowaways, arms trafficking, illegal fishing, pollution, dumping, drilling and human slavery on fishing ships. The organization was founded and is directed by Ian Urbina, who produced an award-winning series in 2015 in The New York Times and a subsequent best-selling book in 2019."

"The Outlaw Ocean Project’s journalism is distinct not just in its focus, but also in how the reporting is conducted and distributed. Most of the stories are reported at least partially at sea. In the United States, the non-profit publishes its stories in various news outlets, including the New Yorker, NBC News, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. The reporting is also translated into a half dozen languages and further disseminated abroad in partnership with dozens of foreign newspapers, magazines, radio and television venues."

The Project offers a toolkit of 3 databases:

• Global Fishing Legislative Database: a 68-country database with laws and regulations on fishing, labour rules, vessel ownership and registration, etc.
• Oceans Actions Index: a compilation of input from advocates and researchers who were asked what can be done to better protect the oceans and its workers
• Oceans Investigations Guide: tips for the investigation of ocean-related crimes