MAR FUTURA LAB
MAR FUTURA LAB is the research arm of Fundación Mar Futura. We combine peer-reviewed science, in-house technology development and direct collaboration with public agencies and coastal communities, with one goal: getting evidence into decision making.MAR FUTURA LAB is the research arm of Fundación Mar Futura. We combine peer-reviewed science, in-house technology development and direct collaboration with public agencies and coastal communities, with one goal: getting evidence into decision making.
Research lines
Marine bioacoustics and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM)
Development and deployment of low-cost hydrophone networks to characterize coastal soundscapes, quantify anthropogenic noise pollution, and automatically detect vessels and blast fishing using machine learning. Active sites in central Chile and in the Paracas National Reserve, Peru.
Fisheries compliance and non-compliance
Behavioural, social and economic drivers of non-compliance with rules in small-scale fisheries, and predictive risk models built from satellite data and enforcement records, applied directly within SERNAPESCA.
Coastal governance and area-based conservation
Assessment of marine conservation instruments — MPAs, TURFs, OECMs — bottom-up designation processes, and decision-support tools for authorities and fisher organizations.
Artificial intelligence for ocean management
Acoustic detection models, analytical platforms for protected-area design, and conversational assistants for fisheries inspectors.
Oyanedel, R., Herrera, A., Olivares, R., Hinojosa, I.A., Buchan, S., Gelcich, S. Incorporating Anthropogenic Noise into Coastal Management and Conservation. Conservation Biology.
Oyanedel, R., Herrera, A., Asal, I., Olivares, R., Silvestri, M., Hinojosa, I.A., Gelcich, S. A low-cost, scalable approach for temporal and spatial characterization of anthropogenic underwater noise in coastal sites. Ecological Indicators.
2026
Bergseth, B., Moltzen, C., Arias, A., Aumend, J., Guilbeaux, M., Oyanedel, R., et al. A practical, adaptive compliance management framework for improving marine protected area effectiveness. Conservation Biology 40(3), e70246.
Bartlett, B., Oyanedel, R., Booth, H., Karlsdóttir, S.Á., Dupaix, A., Greiner, A., et al. Navigating narratives: an exploratory scoping review on the framing of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing research. Fish and Fisheries 27(2), 179–195.
2025
Oyanedel, R., Gelcich, S., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Wilcox, C. Improving detectability of illegal fishing activities across supply chains. npj Ocean Sustainability 4(1), 34.
Bartlett, B., Oyanedel, R., Booth, H., Milner-Gulland, E.J. Bringing contextual reality to IUU fishing. Marine Policy 180, 106784.
Nahuelhual, L., Segovia, N.I., Jullian, C., Outeiro, L., Oyanedel, R., Saavedra, G., et al. Unveiling inequalities among small-scale fishers. Ocean & Coastal Management 268, 107761.
Gupta, T., Karnad, D., Oyanedel, R., Booth, H., Abhiram, T., Gaonkar, H., et al. Identifying leverage points for sustainability in India's shark supply chains. Marine Policy 173, 106580.
Gleadall, I.G., Villanueva, R., Barord, G.J., Doubleday, Z., Aguado-Giménez, F., Oyanedel, R., et al. A balanced approach to the potential of octopus aquaculture. Marine Policy 179, 106682.
2024
Jackson, J., Arlidge, W.N.S., Oyanedel, R., Davis, K.J. The global extent and severity of operational interactions between conflicting pinnipeds and fisheries. Nature Communications 15(1), 7449.
Oyanedel, R., Aceves-Bueno, E., Davids, L., Cisneros-Mata, M.Á. An assessment of potential interventions to reduce the totoaba illegal trade market. Conservation Biology 38(5), e14356.
Oyanedel, R., Levi, M., Furci, G. A call to include fungi in wildlife trade research and policy. Conservation Biology 38(5).
Vallejos, T., Nahuelhual, L., Gelcich, S., Oyanedel, R. Situational crime analysis of poaching within territorial use rights fisheries (TURFs). Frontiers in Marine Science 11, 1419800.
Gleadall, I.G., Barkai, A., Lajbner, Z., McIntyre, P.B., Moustahfid, H., Olsen, P., Oyanedel, R, et al. Sustainable seafood: advances in traceability, assessment, monitoring and resource management. African Journal of Marine Science 46(4), 239–245.
Khanyari, M., Oyanedel, R., Khara, A., Sharma, M., Milner-Gulland, E.J., et al. Predicting and reducing potential parasite infection between migratory livestock and resident Asiatic ibex of Pin valley, India. Journal of Biosciences 49(2), 50.
Preprints
Gardiner, R., Cerbone, H., Akande, H.A., Batist, C., Cowans, A., Felsinger, S., Oyanedel, R., et al. Towards ecologically meaningful foundation models. EcoEvoRxiv, 2026.
Hughes, A.C., Marshall, B.M., Edwards, D., Challender, D., Lockwood, J.L., Oyanedel, R., et al. The true scope of global wildlife trade is obscured by data gaps. EcoEvoRxiv, 2026
Institutional collaborations
Millennium Institute in Coastal Socio-Ecology (SECOS) · Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · Universidad Austral de Chile · Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (CIBAS) · COPAS Coastal Center, Universidad de Concepción · Universidad Católica del Norte (ESMOI) · University of Oxford (ICCS) · Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions · University of Queensland