Illegal fishing: Greece
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing works the edges of Greece's exclusive economic zone, where the scatter of islands and long approaches leaves stretches of water rarely reached by patrol vessels. Building a continuous, defensible record of who was fishing where, across a zone this fragmented, is a reach-and-evidence problem before it is an interception one.
Theft at the edges of a fragmented zone
In waters broken up by islands and long approaches, vessels can work banks far from any patrol, switch off cooperative tracking and vanish between coverage zones. Fisheries authorities see only what lands legally, so the scale of the loss stays invisible until stocks suffer. Ocean surveillance satellites detect and track vessels across the whole zone, including those running dark, and flag the movement patterns that mark a trawler working a bank rather than transiting, turning an empty map into a queue of leads.
A picture that holds up as evidence
A single interception proves nothing about a pattern, and a vessel that vanishes from tracking cannot be prosecuted on suspicion alone. Modular aerial platform kits classify the contacts that matter, closing to confirm gear in the water and identity on the hull so enforcement acts on evidence rather than a hunch, while satellite fish-detection analytics flag the fishing-zone patterns from orbit. Because these capabilities come from independent, non-aligned makers, the resulting record is tasked on national priorities and retained under national control, available without a foreign government's permission to share the relevant pass.
How engagement works in Greece
As an independent, non-aligned prime vendor, Unstrat fields one accountable team to establish a satellite baseline across the EEZ, add aerial classification where illegal activity concentrates, and fuse the layers into a picture the maritime authority runs itself. Equipment is end-use certified and sustained in-region. Localisation arrangements are scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals, so the enforcement record stays under national control.
A record that holds up across a scattered zone
A programme begins with a briefing on where illegal fishing works the edges of Greece's EEZ: banks far from any patrol, in waters broken by islands where vessels switch off cooperative tracking and vanish between coverage zones. Before the accountable single channel offers any representation, end-use is certified and export-control approvals are settled, so the enforcement record stays tasked on national priorities and available without a foreign government's permission to share a pass. Capability is matched to a reach-and-evidence problem: ocean-surveillance satellites to detect vessels across the whole zone including those running dark and flag the patterns that mark a trawler working a bank, modular aerial platform kits to close and confirm gear and identity, and satellite fish-detection analytics for the fishing-zone patterns. Fielding is phased with in-region sustainment, establishing a baseline over the most exploited waters first and fusing the layers into a defensible record the maritime authority runs itself, enforcement that acts on evidence rather than a hunch. Localisation arrangements are scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals.
Relevant capability
Adjacent priorities in Greece
Greece's maritime domain is among the most fragmented anywhere: a scatter of islands, straits and long approaches across the Aegean that no chain of coastal radar can watch as a whole. Building a single picture from the beach out to the edge of the exclusive economic zone is a scale and geometry problem before it is a sensor problem.
Problem pagePiracy raises insurance costs, deters shipping and endangers seafarers. Space-based vessel monitoring, aerial patrol and hardened port and vessel systems let coastal states detect threats early and protect the shipping lanes their economies depend on.
Problem pageContraband, fuel and untaxed goods cross borders wherever surveillance is thinnest, draining customs revenue. Wide-area overhead surveillance and low-observable radar coverage let enforcement concentrate where the traffic actually moves.
Problem pageRelevant solutions
Greece: security context
Greece's maritime geography shapes its priorities: domain awareness across the Aegean, surveillance of an exclusive economic zone dotted with islands, monitoring of borders and migration routes, and protection of critical infrastructure. It is an environment where scattered waters and long approaches demand persistent, wide-area awareness.
An accountable single-channel engagement gives Greece a coherent counterpart for those priorities: Aegean maritime domain awareness, EEZ and island surveillance, border monitoring and infrastructure protection. A defence ministry gains end-use certified equipment, disciplined export-control handling and localisation arrangements scoped per programme rather than promised in advance.
About this challenge
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing drains coastal economies and undermines sovereignty over the exclusive economic zone. Persistent satellite surveillance, satellite-data fisheries analytics and aerial ISR give maritime authorities the picture they need to intercept offenders, without depending on a major power's data feed.
Frequently asked questions
Why does policing Greece's EEZ need overhead surveillance?
Because a zone fragmented by islands and long approaches leaves stretches of water patrol vessels rarely reach. Ocean surveillance satellites detect vessels across the whole zone, including those running dark, and flag the movement patterns that mark illegal fishing. We would be glad to brief your team on establishing a baseline over the most exploited waters first.
How does the picture support prosecution, not just detection?
Modular aerial platform kits classify contacts and confirm gear and identity so enforcement acts on evidence rather than a hunch, building a continuous, defensible record that a single interception could never provide.
Who controls the enforcement record this produces?
The national maritime authority. The satellite, aerial and fisheries-analytics layers come from independent, non-aligned makers, so the record is tasked and retained nationally, with localisation arrangements scoped per programme and subject to export controls and end-use approvals.