Zoologists routinely track animals, from albatross to zebra, using global-positioning-system (gps) tags which then return their data via satellite. However, for the sea water it is hard because seawater is infuriatingly opaque to radio signals. Data collected and stored in a tag can either be sent to a satellite in bursts if the species in question is one that comes to the surface from time to time, or the tag can be dispatched on a one-way trip to the surface after a set period. Will be this encourage illegal fishing ?

