Global Fishing Watch
Global Fishing Watch reported $19.1 million in revenue and $23.0 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $81.05 went to program services, $16.53 to management and general costs and $2.42 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 90.2% of the total. Government grants made up 5.1%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $268,727 (CEO). 33 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 260% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $23MFor context, the median across 371 covered environment charities: $85.82 programs, $10.80 management, $3.38 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $19MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 81.0% | 83.6% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 16.5% | 10.5% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 90.2% | 87.6% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 1.0% | 3.2% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $268,727 | $293,532 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.17% | 1.74% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 33 | 7 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 32.6 | 18.8 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 10 of 10 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseGlobal Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit organization founded on the belief that information about the ocean, our global commons, should be common knowledge. Our purpose is to create and publicly share knowledge about human activity at sea to enable sustainable use of our ocean. We create knowledge using cutting-edge technology to turn big data into actionable information. We share that information publicly to accelerate science and drive fairer, smarter policies and practices that reward good behavior and protect biodiversity and livelihoods. And we promote international…
Engage national governments to use open data and adopt transparency: we are engaging selected countries to adopt transparency as a core principle and to share their vessel and ocean data more widely. Increased transparency, combined with our technology, is enabling stronger enforcement actions and policy shifts, helping these countries address threats to the ocean and become international advocates for transparency. As of the end of 2025, more than 20 governments are using our technology and data. Of these, 12 have taken the significant step of publicly sharing their vessel tracking data via…
Advance transparency in international policies and forums: un agencies, regional bodies and other international institutions also need to embrace transparency principles for the ocean. In 2025, we secured explicit recognition of the role of transparency and technology in ending illegal, unreported and unregulated (iuu) fishing in the un ocean conference's nice ocean action plan. This builds on our success in embedding transparency, open data and technology as core pillars of ocean governance in the 2025 un general assembly and 2024 un sustainable fisheries resolutions.more information about…
Highest reported compensation
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $248,443 | $0 | $20,284 | $268,727 |
| CIO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $226,364 | $0 | $36,666 | $263,030 |
| COO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $243,322 | $0 | $15,339 | $258,661 |
| CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $245,143 | $0 | $10,758 | $255,901 |
| COM. AND PARTNERSHIPS Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $220,825 | $0 | $28,763 | $249,588 |
| CTO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $208,568 | $0 | $0 | $208,568 |
| CHIEF SCIENTIST Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $199,364 | $0 | $7,188 | $206,552 |
| ACCOUNTING & TREASURY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $168,527 | $0 | $24,610 | $193,137 |
33 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Global Fishing Watch (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.3M (Part IX, line 5).
7 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b10 · 10 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 545
- Volunteers Part I, line 610
Largest outside contractors
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| MOTOTECH INC Engineering and data analysis contractor | $1,180,684 |
| TRAVEL COUNSELORS LTD Travel agent | $292,851 |
| SATELLITE STUDIOS Engineering and data analysis | $272,595 |
| ASYNC LOOP Engineering and data analysis | $170,037 |
| FUNNIT SOLUTIONS Engineering and data analysis | $138,587 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 9 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
8 private foundations reported grants to Global Fishing Watch totaling $6.4M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Global Fishing Watch's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Global Fishing Watch, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Global Fishing Watch spent in 2025, $81.05 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All environment charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia
Questions people ask
How much of Global Fishing Watch's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2025, Global Fishing Watch reported that 81.0% of its $23.0 million in expenses went to program services, 16.5% to management and general and 2.4% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Global Fishing Watch pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Global Fishing Watch reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $268,727, for the role of CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Global Fishing Watch get its money?
Of $19.1 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 90.2% came from contributions and grants (including 5.1% from government grants) and 1.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Global Fishing Watch a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 81-5461345 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202601889349301620 · read the filing · XML
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202542799349300414 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202412789349300826 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202342509349300624 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202203069349300700 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202143149349304234 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202043199349302584 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 81-5461345: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.