We tracked illegal fishing in marine protected areas – satellites and AI show most bans are respected, and could help enforce future ones

A strip of beach sits between two oceans.

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Marine protected areas cover more than 8% of the world's oceans today, but they can get a bad rap as being protected on paper only.