Reproducibility package for Deterring Industrial Vessels From African Coastal Fisheries
2026
Reference ID
RR_AFR_2026_596
Author(s)
Gabriel Englander, Aishwarya Agarwal
Metadata
Created on
Apr 07, 2026
Last modified
Apr 08, 2026
Page views
61
Downloads
26
Overview
Abstract
Can African countries deter industrial fishing vessels from near-shore waters reserved for artisanal fishers? Using radar data released in 2024, this paper provides the first causal evaluation of these Inshore Exclusion Zones (IEZs). Regression discontinuity estimates reveal deterrence in 6 of 20 African countries. Next, we apply bunching estimators to obtain counterfactual vessel distributions uncontaminated by spillovers outside IEZ boundaries. We capture extensive‑margin effects by calibrating a discrete choice vessel location model to our bunching estimates. Bioeconomic calculations indicate that IEZs increase artisanal fisher catch by enough to meet key micronutrient requirements for 7 million people.
Reproducibility Package
Scripts
File name
RR_AFR_2026_596
Zip package
RR_AFR_2026_596.zip
Title
Reproducibility package for Deterring Industrial Vessels From African Coastal Fisheries
Date
2026-04
Dependencies
R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock.
Instructions
See README in reproducibility package.
Notes
Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
Source code repository
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Software
Name
R
Version
4.4.1
Reproducibility
Technology environment
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: INTEL(R) XEON(R) PLATINUM 8562Y+ 2.80 GHz (2 processors)
• Memory available: 128 GB
Technology requirements
Run time: ~ 5 days (Excluding the scripts bunching.R, bunching_bootstrap_3.R, and bunching_bootstrap_4.R); ~ 10 days (for the entire package).
Reproduction instructions
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See subsection Datasets for more details.
- Download and Place Data: Once the data is accessed, users should place it in the appropriate folder.
- Run the Package: After placing the data in the folder:
- Open the R project "iez_clone", and restore the environment by running the R script "Code/RUN THIS FIRST".
- Run the following scripts in order: main_make_data, main_make_data_control, and main_analysis
Since all the data is not included, the package includes the results produced by replicators. These files can be used to review the results presented in the paper.
Data
Datasets
Name
Inshore Exclusion Zones Boundaries
Note
Authors' compilation based on Table 1 of Belhabib et al. (2020a). The IEZ boundaries reported in the paper were retained and, where applicable, modified to represent areas where all industrial fishing is prohibited. See Supplemental Appendix A for details on data transformation. File location: Data/IEZ_Boundary.xlsx.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
Citation
Authors' compilation based on: Belhabib, D., Cheung, W. W. L., Kroodsma, D., Lam, V. W. Y., Underwood, P. J., & Virdin, J. (2020). Catching industrial fishing incursions into inshore waters of Africa from space. Fish and Fisheries, 21(2), 379–392. Data downloaded December 4, 2024.
Name
Industrial Vessels and Offshore Infrastructure Data
Note
Data accessed in June 2024 from Paolo et al. (2024). Files: Data/SAR/industrial_vessels_v20240102.csv
Access policy
Data is publicly available but not included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
License
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
License URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/terms-of-use/
Data URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-paper-industrial-activity-2024
Citation
Paolo, F. S., Kroodsma, D., Raynor, J., Hochberg, T., Davis, P., Cleary, J., Marsaglia, L., Orofino, S., Thomas, C., & Halpin, P. (2024). Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea. Nature, 625(7993), 85–91. https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-paper-industrial-activity-2024. Downloaded June 26, 2024.
Name
The Global Fishing Watch Anchorages Dataset
Note
Data accessed in March 2025. File location: Data/named_anchorages_v2_20221206.csv.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
License URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/terms-of-use/
Data URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-anchorages
Citation
Global Fishing Watch. (2023). Anchorages (Version 2). https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-anchorages. Downloaded March 26, 2025.
Name
Global Apparent Fishing Effort Dataset, Version 2.0
Note
Data accessed in September 2024. Files in folder: Data/fleet-daily-csvs-100/fleet-daily-csvs-100-v2-yyyy for years 2017–2020.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but not included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
License
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
License URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/terms-of-use/
Data URL
https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-fishing-effort-v1-v2-archived
Citation
Global Fishing Watch. (2024). 2017–2020 Global Apparent Fishing Effort dataset (fleet-daily-csvs-100), Version 2.0. https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-fishing-effort-v1-v2-archived. Downloaded September 26, 2024.
Name
Global Apparent Fishing Effort Dataset, Version 3.0
Note
Data accessed in March 2025. Files in folder: Data/fleet-daily-csvs-100/fleet-daily-csvs-100-v3-2021.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but not included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
License
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Data URL
https://zenodo.org/records/14982712
Citation
Global Fishing Watch. (2025). 2021 global apparent fishing effort dataset (fleet-daily-csvs-100), Version 3.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14982712. Downloaded March 19, 2025.
Name
MODIS-Aqua Sea Surface Temperature Data
Note
Data accessed in September 2024. File locations: Data/sst; Data/sst_control.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
License URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/engage/open-data-services-software-policies/data-use-guidance
Data URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/pocloud-modis-aqua-l3-sst-thermal-daily-4km-daytime-v2019.0-2019.0#overview
Citation
NASA. (2019). MODIS-Aqua sea surface temperature data (Level 3, mapped, annual, 4 km, 11 μm daytime). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Ocean Ecology Laboratory, Ocean Biology Processing Group. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODSA-1D4D9. Downloaded September 20, 2024.
Name
MODIS-Aqua Chlorophyll-a Data
Note
Data accessed in September 2024. File locations: Data/chl; Data/chl_control.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
License URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/engage/open-data-services-software-policies/data-use-guidance
Data URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/ob-cloud-modisa-l3m-chl-nrt-2022.0
Citation
NASA. (2014). MODIS-Aqua chlorophyll-a data (Level 3, mapped, annual, 4 km). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Ocean Ecology Laboratory, Ocean Biology Processing Group. https://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/MODIS_OC.2014.0. Downloaded September 20, 2024.
Name
ETOPO 2022 Global Relief Model
Note
Data accessed in September 2024. File locations: Data/exportImage.tiff; Data/Bedrock_60arcseconds_control.tif.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0-1.0)
License URL
https://data.noaa.gov/metaview/page?xml=NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/DEM//iso/xml/etopo_2022.xml&view=getDataView&header=none
Data URL
https://data.noaa.gov/metaview/page?xml=NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/DEM//iso/xml/etopo_2022.xml&view=getDataView&header=none
Citation
NOAA. (2022). ETOPO 2022 global relief model (Bedrock, 30 arc-second resolution). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://doi.org/10.25921/fd45-gt74. Downloaded September 16, 2024.
Name
Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), Version 12
Note
Data accessed in August 2024. Files in folder: Data/World_EEZ_v12_20231025/.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://www.vliz.be/nl/imis?dasid=8394&doiid=911
Data URL
https://www.vliz.be/nl/imis?dasid=8394&doiid=911
Citation
Flanders Marine Institute. (2023). Maritime boundaries geodatabase: Maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zones (200NM), Version 12. https://doi.org/10.14284/632. Downloaded August 20, 2024.
Name
The Global Fishing Index: Data V1.1
Note
Data accessed in September 2024. File location: Data/Global Fishing Index 2021 Data for Download V1.1.xlsx.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
Data URL
https://zenodo.org/records/14888827
Citation
Minderoo Foundation. (2021). The Global Fishing Index: Data V1.1. Perth, Western Australia. https://zenodo.org/records/14888827. Downloaded September 11, 2024.
Name
Africa Boundaries
Note
Data accessed in August 2024. Files in folder: Data/Africa_Boundaries-shp/.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Custom License
License URL
https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/07610d73964e4d39ab62c4245d548625/explore?location=4.971007%2C41.248820%2C3
Data URL
https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/07610d73964e4d39ab62c4245d548625/explore?location=4.971007%2C41.248820%2C3
Citation
Ruth, M. (2014). Africa Boundaries compiled from GADM (Database of Global Administrative Areas). https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/07610d73964e4d39ab62c4245d548625. Downloaded August 20, 2024.
Name
World Bank Official Boundaries
Note
Data accessed in February 2025. Files in folder: Data/WB_countries_Admin0_10m/.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/public-licenses?fragment=cc
Data URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0038272/world-bank-official-boundaries
Citation
World Bank. (2024). World country polygons — very high definition. https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/search/dataset/0038272/world-bank-official-boundaries. Downloaded February 3, 2025.
Name
Worldwide Governance Indicators
Note
Data accessed in October 2024. File location: Data/wgidataset.xlsx.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/legal/terms-of-use-for-datasets
Data URL
https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
Citation
World Bank. (2024). Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2024 update. https://www.govindicators.org. Downloaded October 31, 2024.
Name
World Development Indicators
Note
Data accessed in October 2024 and February 2025. Indicators accessed: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL); GDP per capita (current US$). File locations: Data/d24b9ae7-b737-4a7a-9e88-47dbf552b49a_Data.csv; Data/API_NY.GDP.PCAP.CD_DS2_en_csv_v2_76317.csv.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/legal/terms-of-use-for-datasets
Data URL
https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
Citation
World Bank. 2025. "World Development Indicators" [dataset]. Indicators accessed: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL); GDP per capita (current US$). https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. Accessed 2024 and 2025.
Name
Global Fishing Effort Database
Note
Data accessed in February 2025. File location: Data/TotalEffortby_FGroup_EEZ_Sector.csv.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Data URL
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/1241a51d-c8c2-4432-aa68-3d2bae142794
Citation
Rousseau, Y., Blanchard, J., Novaglio, C., Kirsty, P., Tittensor, D., Watson, R., & Ye, Y. (2022). Global Fishing Effort [dataset]. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS). https://doi.org/10.25959/MNGY-0Q43. Downloaded February 14, 2025.
Name
The Future of Food from the Sea Data
Note
Data accessed in February 2025. File locations: Data/Unlumped_ProjectionData.csv; Data/Unlumped_ProjectionData_allyears.csv.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
CC0 1.0 Universal
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Data URL
https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.25349/D96G6H
Citation
Costello, C., Ovando, D., Clavelle, T., Strauss, C. K., Hilborn, R., Melnychuk, M. C., Branch, T. A., Gaines, S. D., Szuwalski, C. S., & Cabral, R. B. (2016). Global fishery prospects under contrasting management regimes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(18), 5125–5129. https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.25349/D96G6H. Downloaded February 6, 2025.
Name
Sea Around Us – Exclusive Economic Zone Catch Data
Note
Data accessed in February 2025 via the Sea Around Us API. Contains marine catch reconstructions for five EEZs: EEZ 288 (Ghana), EEZ 430 and EEZ 566 (West African mainland), EEZ 478 (Mauritania), and EEZ 694 (West African mainland). File locations: Data/SAU EEZ 288 v50-1.csv; Data/SAU EEZ 430 v50-1.csv; Data/SAU EEZ 478 v50-1.csv; Data/SAU EEZ 566 v50-1.csv; Data/SAU EEZ 694 v50-1.csv. Data are accessible via the Sea Around Us API at https://api.seaaroundus.org/api/v1/eez/tonnage/taxon/ using the respective region IDs (288, 430, 478, 566, 694).
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
License URL
https://www.seaaroundus.org/terms-and-conditions/
Data URL
https://www.seaaroundus.org/
Citation
(1) Belhabib, D., et al. (2020). Updating to 2018 the catch reconstructions for 14 countries of the West African mainland. Fisheries Centre Research Report, 28(5), pp. 115–147. (2) Kane, E. A., et al. (2020). Mauritania: Updated catch reconstruction for 2011–2018. Fisheries Centre Research Report, 28(5), pp. 60–64. (3) Polido, R., et al. (2020). Ghana: Updated catch reconstruction for 2011–2018. Fisheries Centre Research Report, 28(5), pp. 40–45. Pauly, D., Zeller, D., and Palomares, M.L.D. (Editors) (2020). Sea Around Us Concepts, Design and Data. www.seaaroundus.org. Downloaded February 14, 2025.
Name
Supplementary Data from: Virdin et al. (2023)
Note
Data accessed in October 2024. File location: Data/43016_2023_844_MOESM3_ESM.xlsx.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Data URL
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00844-4#data-availability
Citation
Virdin, J., Basurto, X., Nico, G., Harper, S., del Mar Mancha-Cisneros, M., Vannuccini, S., Ahern, M., Anderson, C. M., Funge-Smith, S., & Gutierrez, N. L. (2023). Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world. Nature Food, 4(10), 874–885. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00844-4. Downloaded October 31, 2024.
Name
100th Degree Overpass Data for Africa
Note
Data shared directly by David Kroodsma of Global Fishing Watch with the authors in June 2024. Each file covers a year-month of overpass rasters at 1/100th of a degree resolution for Africa (bounding box: lat_min = -39, lat_max = 39, lon_min = -29, lon_max = 57). Overpasses represent the sum of Sentinel-2 satellite overpasses per grid cell. File locations: Data/100th degree overpass data/overpass_africa_100_yyyy_m.csv for years 2017–2021, all months.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but not included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0
License URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/public-licenses?fragment=cc
Data URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0067067/100th_degree_overpass_data
Citation
Paolo, F.S., Kroodsma, D., Raynor, J. et al. Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea. Nature 625, 85–91 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8. Accessed June 26, 2024.
Data statement
All data sources are publicly available but not all are included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
Description
Output
Type
Working Paper
Title
Deterring Industrial Vessels From African Coastal Fisheries
Description
Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
Authors
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Englander | World Bank | aenglander@worldbank.org |
| Aishwarya Agarwal | University of Texas at Austin | aishwarya.agarwal@utexas.edu |
Date of production
2026-04-03
Scope and coverage
Geographic locations
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| Africa | AFR |
Keywords
African Natural Resources Management
Industrial And Artisanal Fisheries
Causal Inference
Topics
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
License
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Contacts
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Englander | World Bank | aenglander@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
Date of Production
2026-04-03
Document version
1