This story is a part of the GenOcean campaign — an official Ocean Decade campaign showcasing Decade Actions, collaborating organizations and ocean leaders that focus on youth and citizen science opportunities to help anyone, anywhere be the change the ocean needs.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine refuges are ocean spaces where human activity is regulated in order to protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems and cultural resources. Illegal activity including fishing, dumping and vessel operation could put species at risk, but tracking what is happening offshore is costly and logistically challenging, especially at night or in remote locations where patrol is difficult.
Marine Monitor (M2), a vessel monitoring platform developed by ProtectedSeas, offers a solution to track fishing activity more effectively and at a finer scale than what can be picked up by satellite systems. Using commercial radar systems partnered with cameras and AI technology, vessel activity can be assessed. It is even possible to predict if a vessel is illegally fishing in MPAs. This technology can assist conservationists in preserving coastal ecosystems and enforce laws protecting the ocean economy.
“Many technology platforms like satellite imagery are not currently able to collect high resolution data on small vessel activity especially in areas close to the coast,” Samantha King, Senior Scientist at M2 explains. “We designed the Marine Monitor to use accessible and affordable technology to create an autonomous, continuous data record of all activity on the water within the monitoring area to fill that gap.”
The system uses the exact same radar system used for boat navigation. The innovation comes from the software, which continuously captures and analyzes the data over time to create a long-term record of vessel activity, from kayaks to cargo ships.
“We started exploring machine learning and computer vision models to predict the likelihood that a vessel is fishing,” says King. “We’re trying to incorporate as many tools as we can into the system for users to know what’s going on before they actually go out on the water.”
Marine Monitor addresses two Ocean Decade Challenges:
4 – Develop a sustainable, resilient and equitable ocean economy
9 – Skills, knowledge, technology and participation for all
Technology Meets Community Conservation in Baja California Sur, Mexico
A great example of the use of M2 is the collaboration with Global Conservation, protecting the Gulf of California and Baja California Sur. What began several years ago with a single deployment in Loreto National Park has now grown into a regional network of six M2 systems operating across Baja California Sur, covering more than 300,000 hectares, including the 70,000 hectares of the Islas Marías archipelago.
On the remote islands within protected waters, scientists and park rangers utilize M2 to enforce fishing restrictions and monitor the area for other threats. Once suspicious activity is detected, officers and rangers can take action.
“After we deployed this M2 in the north of Isla Marias, the Mexican Navy responded amazingly,” shares marine conservation leader Alex González, who coordinates Global Conservation’s Gulf of California compliance initiative. “They launched two boats to catch and intercept the boats in question. In one week, more than twenty boats conducting illegal fishing were retained and detained, helping the Navy effectively regulate these areas without expending unnecessary energy patrolling.”
For coastal communities, the most important part of the project is not only the use of the M2 system, but the partnerships that form.
Before deployments, conservation teams meet with fishers, NGOs and park managers to identify areas where monitoring is most needed. Communities help define what suspicious activity actually looks like in their waters.
“The M2 is a great tool,” González explains. “But it’s nothing if there is no engagement or investment from the communities and the managers. For this reason, our local partners work to provide expertise, advice and resources to park managers and law enforcement authorities to improve and boost their performance.”
In Agua Verde, south of Loreto, fishers help monitor marine activity while also developing traceable hook-and-line fisheries with strong sustainability standards. Young people in the community have formed dive groups that conduct ecological monitoring alongside scientists and NGOs, becoming a part of the conservation process.
The systems help communities better understand tourism activity and marine traffic patterns. In some areas, data revealed far more boat traffic than conservation managers realized, helping the community protect their marine resources and local economy.
“A community that isn’t healthy, is reflected in the sea,” shares González from a personal communication with José Flores, President of the Fisheries Cooperatives Federation in Baja California Sur. In Spanish, this shared community truth translates to, “Una comunidad que no está sana, se refleja en su mar.”
How the Technology Works
M2 is a low-cost technology that can assess the marine environment 24/7 and in all weather conditions. Each deployment includes the radar system, cameras to capture photos and document boats and the AI that analyzes the data. The radar detects movement on the water while cameras photograph vessels that enter monitored areas.
Taking advantage of modern-day tools, M2 can use machine learning models to analyze patterns such as vessel speed, time spent in protected zones, movement behavior and track-line shapes.
The goal is not to automatically accuse someone of illegal fishing, but to help rangers and local communities better understand what may be happening.
“We never want to insinuate that someone is doing something illegal based only on a computer model,” King says. “What we are trying to do is give users as many tools as possible to respond appropriately.”
Similar to other technologies that track industrial fishing globally, M2 provides similar tools for small-scale fishing, being able to help authorities identify “dark vessels” that turn off their tracking systems to avoid detection.
After M2 systems identify suspicious activity in protected waters, local or governmental law enforcement can investigate further and intercept the illegal activities.
Beyond Illegal Fishing
While preventing illegal fishing remains the primary goal, the technology is now being used in other ways as well.
During whale migration season near Loreto, blue whales move through narrow channels between islands where vessel traffic restrictions help reduce the risk of collisions. Marine Monitor systems can help authorities identify boats violating navigation rules and protect these large marine mammals on their journey.
Conservation groups are also using the technology to better understand tourism activity involving orcas near Isla Cerralvo and La Ventana-El Sargento.
This flexibility highlights the growing importance of monitoring vessel activity in nearshore waters.
How M2 Shapes the Future of Ocean Stewardship
Today, more than thirty M2 systems operate across eleven countries, creating one of the world’s growing datasets on small-scale vessel activity in coastal ecosystems. Marine Monitor has the capacity to build collaborations and explores how technology, local knowledge and community stewardship work together to safeguard the ocean for future generations.
“We’re trying to simplify the system and make it more affordable to help communities monitor their own resources,” King says.
For González, the motivation behind the work is deeply personal. He often expresses that his reasons for preserving the ocean have everything to do with ensuring future generations have a healthy ocean, especially to his son Dante.
“There are thousands of reasons we should be working to keep our seas and our ocean as healthy as possible,” he says. “Hopefully my son will see what I have been able to see in the ocean when he’s my age.”
To learn more about Marine Monitor and how you can utilize their technology and get involved, visit their website.
Read more GenOcean stories on our webpage.
