Live on 70%+ of the Belgian demersal fleet

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Nautical · Analytics · Vessel · Intelligence

The data your vessel already generates. Finally working for your business.

One box on board. A complete data picture for your fleet, your science, and your sector.

Skipper less paperwork, operational insight
Science research-grade data, every trip
Policy the evidence base Europe demands

70^%+

Of the active Belgian demersal fleet running NaviTools today

2026

Ready for the EU traceability obligation in force this year

Recognised at EU level as an example of data-driven fisheries

ILVO

Scientific collaboration on research-grade data integration

Enabled by

Data Processing Technology

01 — The problem

Fishing vessels generate valuable data. Most of it is lost at sea.

While compliance requirements grow, the data needed to meet them is already being produced on board. It simply never reaches the people who can act on it.

A working trawler produces a continuous stream of information. Today, most of that signal disappears the moment the trip ends.

NaviTools was built to capture it.

Compliance pressure

EU traceability obligation in force January 2026

Operational cost

Fuel prices keep surging due to global political tension.

Political risk

Quota debates without sector-side evidence

Scientific gap

Stock assessments rely on infrequent surveys

Vessel data at sea — the NaviTools problem

02 — For the fisherman

The technology that takes work off the deck.

NaviTools was conceived by a former skipper. Every feature is measured against one question: does it save time, money, or trouble on board?

Direct value, every trip

Less paperwork. More margin. Real protection.

Automatic compliance. Traceability and electronic logbooks run without extra administrative burden.
Fuel efficiency insight per tow and per trip — direct cost savings.
Evidence for disputes and insurance claims — data as protection.
Fewer errors on board; nothing left to remember at the end of a long trip.

03 — For the community

The same data, working for the sector and for the science.

Beyond the wheelhouse, NaviTools strengthens the institutions that the fishing community depends on — producer organisations, scientific institutes, and the European policy framework.

Sector & governments

Transparency as the foundation of trust.

Demonstrable practice: what is caught, how, and under what conditions.
EU 2026 ready — traceability obligation built in from day one.
Sustainability indicators: fuel intensity, seabed contact, bycatch.
Recognised by ICES and at EU level as an example of data-driven fisheries.

Science & policy

Real-time data for assessments that matter.

Stock assessments enriched — faster and more granular than traditional surveys.
Modular architecture in collaboration with ILVO and international research institutes.
Certified data governance — vessel owners retain full ownership.
Open scientific pipelines — no black boxes; models stay transparent.

04 — What sets it apart

Built on deliberate choices — not on hype.

NaviTools is a system, not a single product: vessel-hardened hardware, enterprise cloud, open-source scientific modules, and a new generation of AI tools that turn raw signal into decisions.

Purpose-built hardware

Purpose-built collection unit, hardened for working vessels. Dedicated processing, minimal maintenance, long service life.

Industry-standard cloud infrastructure

Data processing and storage on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure — the same standards used by global research institutions and governments. Reliable, scalable, auditable.

Open-source scientific integration

Research modules — stock assessment, species distribution, environmental data pipelines — plug in as modular, open-source components. No black boxes.

Skipper Geert van der Plas, W-145 — "W-145's skipper Geert van der Plas is positive about the benefits of gathering data."

Designed by fishermen, for fishermen

Conceived from the deck up, by a former commercial skipper. Practical first, data-rich second, complex only when necessary.

Certified data governance

Vessel owners retain full ownership of their data. They decide who accesses it, on what terms, for which purpose.

06 — In active development & deployment

Agentic AI and advanced modelling

AI agents handle the heavy work: crunching trip data, building dashboards, running predictive models that sharpen as more vessels contribute. On deck, the same agents make that data accessible in plain language — a skipper or fleet manager can ask a question and get an answer on their own phone or tablet. No new interface to learn — the data comes to them.

05 — Proof

Not a pilot. A platform at fleet scale.

VisTools, the Belgian implementation of NaviTools, is one of the most widely deployed vessel data systems in European demersal fisheries — live, in daily use, and adopted at scale.

Belgian fishing vessel at sea — NaviTools fleet

70^%+

of the active Belgian demersal fishing fleet runs on the NaviTools platform today.

Source: VisTools deployment, 2026 · Belgian demersal fleet, active vessels

Scientific partner

Flemish Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Research

Industry backing

Belgian fishing industry producer organisation

European recognition

Cited at EU and ICES level as an example of data-driven fisheries

Funding

Provincie West-Vlaanderen & Agentschap Landbouw en Visserij

Active deployments — fleet coverage

100%

NaviTools is live on 70%+ of the active Belgian demersal fleet, with growing coverage in the Netherlands.

VIStools — intelligence layer

VIStools is the research and skipper-facing analytics platform built on the NaviTools BleuBox data concentrator. Automated sensor data from each trip feeds a live view of catch composition, fuel consumption, and revenue per haul — accessible on board and online.

The rationale — from the field

Is this the Tech to build a Regenerative Fishery?

What Regenerative Fishing Could Actually Look Like

EU traceability obligation

Compliance, on the deadline.

From January 2026, the EU traceability obligation requires every commercial fishing vessel to record and transmit catch data with a new level of granularity. NaviTools fleets are already there.

Jan 2026 In force across the EU

06 — Partners & ecosystem

Working with the institutions that shape European fisheries.

Technology, sector, research and public stakeholders supporting the NaviTools platform.

07 — Get in touch

Let's talk about what your fleet's data can do.

For institutional partners, governments, funders and international organisations. We typically respond within two business days.

info@navitools.be

Based in

Belgium · serving Europe and beyond