Marine Sand Watch
Marine Sand Watch finds that the marine dredging industry is digging up 6 billion tons per year, the equivalent of more than 1 million dump trucks per day. This is significantly impacting biodiversity and coastal communities. About Marine Sand Watch: This platform monitors large vessels dredging sand, sediment and rock in the marine environment all around the world using the “automatic identification system (AIS)” emitted by dredging vessels, which provides identifying information and their real time position. This platform provides all stakeholders including Member States and the dredging sector with the required data and information to engage in talks with UNEP on how to improve dredging standards around the world. The dredging vessels are identified by the characteristic way they move over time allowing us to quantify activities such as dredging, dumping, transiting and discharging material to shore. The platform identifies: dredging vessels around the world; areas where sedi