Equatorial satellite constellation proposed to track illegal fishing in Somali Basin

A University of Florida aerospace engineering PhD candidate and supervisor Norman Fitz-Coy have designed a satellite system to watch the Somali Basin, a tuna-rich area of the western Indian Ocean between Somalia and Kenya. The concept uses 24 satellites inclined at 20 degrees to the Equator, giving revisits of about 1.1 hours against 3.4 hours for a polar layout.

It pairs wide-area radar to find vessels with sharper imaging to identify them, and sorts detections onboard because ground stations such as Malindi and Hartebeesthoek can download only 120–360GB a day against roughly 690GB generated. The authors estimate about US$347 million over five years, around US$25 per confirmed detection, or roughly US$9 million per year each if shared among eight FISH-i Africa states.

They argue enforcement, meaning boarding, prosecution and courts, is the real limit, not detection.

Why it matters: The study shows a low-inclination orbit and onboard processing could give East African states frequent coverage of vessels that evade self-reporting. Cost-sharing through regional bodies such as FISH-i Africa is presented as the route to affordability, provided enforcement capacity follows.