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Fish taxies—refrigerated cargo vessels or reefers that function as mobile ports for fishing boats—are frequently described as weak links in the traceability of the seafood value chain. For the first time, research has identified the owners of all globally used reefers, the flags they use, and the fishing vessels they meet.

Refrigerated cargo vessels— or "reefers"—play a significant role in the seafood industry. For instance, nearly a third of global tuna catch (worth US$10.4 billion) is transhipped annually.

Transshipment, the transfer of catches but also people, spare parts and fuel between a fishing vessel and a reefer, has been repeatedly described as opaque and associated with illegal activities, as it can enable the transfer of illegally caught species or obscure the origin of seafood.

Fishing practices at sea used to be out of sight and out of mind, but recent advancements in the collection and sharing of satellite data at the vessel level mean that researchers and the public can now see where vessels operate. A missing piece, however, has been knowing who owns the reefer vessels used in the transshipment of seafood.

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