License and Rate Limits

Terms of Use

GLOBAL FISHING WATCH
1025 CONNECTICUT AVE., NW, STE. 200
WASHINGTON, DC 20036-5425

Welcome to the Global Fishing Watch ("GFW", "We", "Our", "Us”) suite of Application Program Interfaces (APIs). These Terms of Use let the user of these Services ("You", "Your") know what You get when You use Our APIs to access our websites, and what We expect in return.

The services available through Global Fishing Watch, including all data products and associated services, (collectively referred to as the “Services”), are owned and operated by Global Fishing Watch, Inc. By using the Services, You agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and any future updates (collectively, the "Terms").

1. USAGE

We provide You with access to these Services in order to promote better management of the ocean for the betterment of all people.

A. Please don’t misuse Our Services. You agree to use the Services and their contents only for lawful purposes and not to defame, harass or threaten any one or to make available any defamatory, infringing, obscene, pornographic, offensive or illegal material. You may not use the Services in any manner that could damage or overburden the Services or interfere with any other person’s use of the Services.

B. Your use of the Services does not give You any ownership rights in the intellectual property in the Services or in its contents. Some of the software used to provide the Services may be made available separately under open-source licenses.

C. Noncommercial Use Only. The Services are available for noncommercial use only in accordance with the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, including complying with the attribution requirements set forth in Section 3 below. You are welcome to use the Services provided that Your application and its use are not intended (primarily or materially) for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation. In this context, We ask that users not exceed 50,000 DAILY API requests per day and 1,500,000 per month. Users who exceed this volume may be asked to reduce usage or may receive diminished service levels. GFW reserves the right to revoke Your usage rights at any time for any reason, including if We determine that Your application or use is not consistent with such restrictions on commercial use.

D. We will continue to regularly add to, modify, and otherwise improve Our Services. By using the Services, You acknowledge that We may change the features and functions of the Services, including APIs, over time. It is Your responsibility to ensure that Your use of the Services is compatible with the current version. We ask that you also reasonably cooperate with us from time to time in providing feedback on your Use of the APIs, your purposes and the impact created, which will help us advance our noncommercial goals for the APIs.

2. ACCOUNTS AND API USAGE

A. In order to use many of the Services, You must register for an account. GFW reserves the right to reject any account registration request, in its sole discretion.

B. By requesting to open an account with the Global Fishing Watch Services, You represent and warrant to us, as of the time of your request and on a continuing basis for the duration of Your use of the Services, that: (1) You are applying on behalf of an organization or entity that supports the sustainable use of ocean resources; (2) You are authorized to act on behalf of such organization or entity; (3) the application is sent from a valid email from the organization or entity; and (4) no other application or registration for this organization or entity exists. GFW may request additional information in order to confirm these conditions are met.

C. When You use Our application program interfaces (“API(s)”), each request to an API must include one of Your Account's unique API keys.

D. Please protect the security of Your Account. When accessing or using the API, you must comply with all of our security policies and procedures at all times. You are responsible for Your use of the Services and all activity that occurs under Your Account, including any use of Your Account’s API keys.

E. You may not, and may not attempt to, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to determine or modify the source code of our API or create any derivative products from the API. Anyone who uses the API to access Account data or to perform actions on the service must authenticate with an API key.

F. You agree that your login credentials and any other required forms of authentication, where applicable, have been chosen by you, when applicable. You also agree to keep your login credentials and any other required forms of authentication, including your API keys, confidential and separate from each other, as well as separate from any other information or documents relating to your use of the service.

G. The GFW API Token is specific to You and is Your responsibility. Your token is not to be shared or published with any additional users. You may only use the API token issued to you, and your Use of any token other than the one issued to You is a violation of these Terms. You may not include Your token in a publicly available web interface such that it can be discovered by other parties using Your website and/or application. You may not permit or authorize any other person or entity to use the API token issued to you.

H. We may cancel or suspend Your access to the Services at any time and for any reason, without notice. Upon cancellation or suspension, Your right to use the Services will end. You will have the right to access to Your Content stored on the Services for a period of fifteen days following cancellation or suspension; thereafter You may not have access to Your Content stored on the Services.

I. You agree to participate in follow-up surveys and report how the APIs are used, the number of users and other benefits they provide the end-stakeholder.

3. ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION

A. In connection with any use you make of Our APIs, you agree that you will attribute Us as the source of the data in compliance with our Attribution Requirements, which are as follows:

A.1. Websites or embedded graphics. If You use Our APIs in a Website, data visualization or graphic, You must include either of the following:

OR

A.2. Bibliography. If You include the use of Our API(s) in a bibliography or use the entire Site as a source, use the following citation format:

A.3. Other products or use. If You made any other use of Our API(s), use the following citation format:

OR

B. You also agree to ensure that Our Attribution Requirements are communicated and maintained by any partners or downstream users of Our Services. Aside from the Attribution Requirements, neither You nor any partners or downstream users of Our Services shall use the GFW name, logos, trademarks or other marks without GFW’s prior written consent.

4. THIRD-PARTY CONTENT

A. The Services incorporate content, data, and information from others, including You. While We may review any content, and remove it if We determine it violates the law or Our policies, We do not commit to review all content, and You should not rely on Us to do so.

B. Open data is important to Us and We make considerable effort to make many of the datasets available without restriction through the Services. Nonetheless, each dataset carries its own license and restrictions. You should review the dataset’s metadata to understand these restrictions.

C. You must comply with the licenses of Our datasets. All content displayed on or accessible through the Services is protected by United States copyright laws or their equivalents in other countries.

5. YOUR CONTENT

A. Most of Our Services are designed to help You share or publish Your content. In using Global Fishing Watch service, You may submit data, information, or other content to the Services (“Your Content”). You retain ownership of Your Content.

B. Except where expressly prohibited, You understand that We may use, display, or distribute Your Content even if You stop using the Services. For the sole purpose of enabling Your use of the Services, You grant Us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable right and license (with right to sublicense), to use, copy, display, distribute, modify, create derivative works, and store Your Content and to allow others to do so.

6. DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS

A. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND ITS CONTENT IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. ACTUAL CONDITIONS MAY DIFFER FROM INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE SERVICES. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE CONTENT OR SERVICES WILL BE ERROR FREE, ACCURATE OR WITHOUT INTERRUPTION.

B. WHEN USING THE SERVICES YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO USER SUBMISSIONS AND OTHER THIRD PARTY CONTENT ("NON-GFW CONTENT"), AND SOME OF THIS CONTENT MAY BE INACCURATE, OFFENSIVE, INDECENT, OR OTHERWISE OBJECTIONABLE. WE DO NOT ENDORSE ANY NON-GFW CONTENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL GFW BE LIABLE FOR OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE NON-GFW CONTENT, INCLUDING FOR ANY INACCURACIES, ERRORS, OR OMISSIONS IN ANY NON-GFW CONTENT, ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT WITH REGARD TO ANY NON-GFWCONTENT, OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY NON-GFW CONTENT.

C. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR USE OR COST OF COVER) RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR THEIR CONTENTS, EVEN IF WE WERE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL WE HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU FOR CLAIMS OR DAMAGES FOR ANY REASON IN EXCESS OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100 USD) IN AGGREGATE FOR ALL CLAIMS OR DAMAGES. CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY, AND THEREFORE SOME OR ALL OF THE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

7. DMCA COMPLIANCE

If You are a copyright owner or an agent thereof, and believe that any content on the Services infringes Your copyrights, You may send a notice in writing to Global Fishing Watch E-mail: support@globalfishingwatch.org with the following information:

A. Your signature as a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;

B. Identification of the exact location on the Services of copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Services are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works as located on the Services;

C. The address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the complaining party;

D. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

E. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

8. ADDITIONAL TERMS

A. We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. All changes are effective immediately upon posting on the Global Fishing Watch website. You should review these terms regularly for changes. Your continued use of the Services after any such changes constitutes Your binding acceptance of the updated Terms.

B. The laws of the District of Columbia, United States of America, excluding its conflict of laws provisions, apply to any dispute about the Services, their content or these Terms. The U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods doesn't apply. If we have a disagreement related to these Terms, or Your or Our performance under them that we cannot resolve between us, then we agree to have them finally resolved in arbitration using either (i) the International Arbitration Rules of the International Dispute Resolution Centre of the American Arbitration Association, if You are located outside of the United States, in any case with one arbitrator, or (ii) the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, if You are located in the United States. We agree to follow this paragraph if it differs from those rules. We agree that the arbitrator will not have the power to award either of us any damages that are not consistent with Section 6 (Disclaimers and Limitations) of these Terms. The arbitration will be in Washington, DC, USA, and will be conducted in English. Unless we agree or one of us shows its essential, there will not be any formal discovery in our arbitration. The arbitrators can award costs and attorney’s fees against one of us, or divide them between us. We understand that any court with jurisdiction will enforce the decisions from the arbitration and enter judgment on them.

C. You agree to indemnify, hold harmless and at your expense defend Us, Our affiliates, and Our and their respective officers, managers, and employees (“Indemnified Persons”) from and against any and all losses, claims, demands, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees of counsel selected by Us) arising in connection with any (a) of Your or Your affiliates’ (i) breach of these Terms, including any representation, warranty or covenant contained herein, or (ii) willful misconduct or negligence. For the avoidance of doubt, the indemnification set forth in this Section is in addition to, and not in place of, those set forth in any terms of use or user agreement for the Service.

D. If We do not promptly enforce the Terms, We have not given up any other rights or the right to enforce them or other Terms in the future.

E. If any particular provision of these Terms is not enforceable, that doesn't affect the enforceability of any other provision of the Terms.

F. These Terms are between You and Us, and no one else can enforce them.

G. These Terms are the entire statement of the agreement between You and Us regarding the Services and their contents.

Rate Limits

Our APIs are intended for non-commercial use. Rate limits protect the API from malicious misuse and prevent any individual user from monopolizing shared resources. They help us manage total infrastructure load and provide fair, stable access for the full API user community.

The enforced thresholds are:

Rate limits are measured in two ways: requests per day and requests per month. You can reach the limit through either threshold, depending on which one is exhausted first. For example, a user could exceed the daily limit by sending 52,000 requests in one day, or exceed the monthly limit by sending 1,600,000 requests in a month even if no single day reaches 50,000 requests.

Rate limits are defined and enforced at the user level across all tokens created by that user. Each user can create a maximum of five tokens. Requests made through any of those tokens count toward the same daily and monthly totals.

All API responses include rate-limit metadata in the HTTP headers so you can monitor current usage, remaining requests, and reset timing.

What happens when a limit is exceeded?

When a user exceeds a rate limit, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests HTTP status code.

If the daily limit is reached, further requests from that user are blocked across all of the user's tokens for 24 hours from the time the limit was exceeded.

If the monthly limit is reached, further requests from that user are blocked across all of the user's tokens for 30 consecutive days from the time the limit was exceeded.

Tokens are not deleted when a rate limit is exceeded. They remain associated with the user account and can be used again after the relevant reset period has passed.

Rate-limit headers

Users can inspect the following response headers to understand the current rate-limit status.

How to avoid rate limits

Exercise caution when providing programmatic access to the GFW APIs. Use the rate-limit response headers to track usage and adjust request pacing before reaching a hard cap.

• Implement exponential backoff by retrying requests with increasing delays when errors occur.
• Combine multiple tasks into a single API call where possible to reduce total request volume.
• Track request frequency in real time and slow down before reaching the daily or monthly threshold.
• Store frequently accessed data locally to avoid repeated requests for the same data.

API Token

Each user can create a maximum of five tokens, and rate limits are shared across all of them. For how to create and use a token, its confidentiality rules, and 401/403 troubleshooting, see Authentication.