PROJECTS
Solution design
A Platform for Designing Coastal Marine Protected Areas
This project, in collaboration with C-Minds and Vital Oceans, aims to accelerate the creation of community-led Marine Protected Areas in Latin America and the Caribbean through an artificial intelligence platform that enables evidence-based decision-making. By visualizing environmental data, automating biodiversity and fishing activity analysis, and integrating traditional ecological knowledge, local stakeholders can generate proposals for new conservation zones. The system seeks to integrate science, technology, and participatory governance to strengthen coastal communities, restore key marine ecosystems, and contribute to climate resilience in a vital region.
In partnership with Capital Azul Foundation, Mar Futura is promoting an innovative acoustic monitoring system to strengthen surveillance in coastal marine refuges. Using low-cost hydrophones, automatic detection algorithms, and an interactive digital platform, the project will record and visualize illegal activity even in low visibility conditions (for example, at night). This tool integrates with the camera systems already installed by Capital Azul, generating a more robust and adaptable monitoring network. The project is the result of collaborative, action-oriented design and seeks to become a replicable model for other marine protected and managed areas in Chile.
Solution Design
Acoustic Monitoring System for Marine Protected Areas
Science
Underwater Noise Monitoring in Central Chile
This project seeks to map underwater noise pollution off the central coast of Chile using low-cost hydrophones. By recording sounds generated by human activities such as fishing and shipping, risk profiles will be generated at six key coastal stations, considering their biodiversity and proximity to noise sources. The study integrates science, technology, and public policy to propose effective mitigation strategies that protect marine life in highly productive ecosystems such as the Humboldt Current System.
This joint project, with Stanford, SECOS, and SERNAPESCA, seeks to transform fisheries enforcement in Chile through predictive risk models based on satellite data (AIS, VMS) and compliance records. Using artificial intelligence the team will develop risk maps, proactive alerts, and compliance management strategies for industrial and artisanal fleets. The initiative aims to optimize the use of public resources, strengthen fisheries enforcement, and build a replicable model to combat illegal fishing in Latin America and other regions.
Solution Design
Data Technology to Combat Illegal Fishing in Chile
Solution Design
Strengthening Compliance in Artisanal Fisheries
This collaborative project, carried out by SECOS and ACS in partnership with SERNAPESCA, is developing a technological toolkit to combat illegal fishing in Chilean artisanal fisheries. The system includes a data acquisition platform, statistical models, expert estimation, a judicial index, and an interactive dashboard to visualize patterns of noncompliance. With regional workshops and a design adaptable to the territory, the toolkit is designed to be integrated into public policies, including the new Fisheries Law, and to be scalable to other contexts in Latin America.
This collaborative project with the University of Queensland evaluates the impact of electronic monitoring on reducing bycatch and discards in Chilean industrial fisheries. Through statistical analysis of data from scientific observers and electronic logbooks, the study seeks to understand how the electronic monitoring system has modified fishing behavior. The project includes workshops with authorities and will generate key technical and scientific input to strengthen the implementation of electronic monitoring systems in Chile and other similar contexts.