Marine Monitor (M2): Ocean Conservation Technology

The Marine Monitor (M2) is a vessel monitoring platform developed by ProtectedSeas, an organization granted special accreditation for the UN Ocean Conference. M2 provides marine resource managers with an accessible tool for monitoring and reporting on vessel activity in coastal areas. Using marine radar, a familiar technology for vessel operators, M2 tracks and records all vessels within its range, which is especially useful for monitoring nearshore small-scale and recreational fisheries activities. Existing technologies monitoring industrial fleets may not be available or applicable for these vessel types, and resources available for enforcement in marine areas can be limited, presenting obstacles for effective management. M2 addresses the need for an efficient monitoring solution at the appropriate scale for local resource managers without compromising available benefits from existing and new technology. With over twenty systems deployed to ten countries since 2015, M2 is actively being utilized to autonomously and continuously collect data on vessel activity for an expanding user base of marine managers and other local stakeholders. The repurposing of established technology and integration with software have proven ideal for rapid dissemination, deployment, and training of local users. By automating both data collection and evaluation, managers receive data products they can integrate with expert knowledge of their area to support decision making. In this way, M2 helps provide skills, knowledge, and technology for all and aids site partners working to monitor compliance with marine regulations and fisheries activities. While a singular solution for monitoring vessel activity at any scale has yet to be created for all, M2 is a successful and adaptable system created specifically to help fill existing gaps in both knowledge and access to resources. In an effort to make conservation technology more accessible and equitable throughout the world, M2 was designed to be a low cost technological solution, and ProtectedSeas uses profits to support the deployment of M2 systems to qualifying groups, often those managing existing nearshore marine protected areas (MPAs) with limited resources like funding, staff, and infrastructure. Therefore, as the M2 network expands, more resources are mobilized for those most in need of tools for achieving their marine protection and management goals. This may be especially impactful for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The relatively low cost and small footprint of M2 with provided support and training have already helped build capacity in a number of existing SIDS, including Belize, American Samoa, Palau, and Tuvalu. We will continue to deploy M2 systems across the world's oceans throughout the Ocean Decade and beyond to show that monitoring and more informed management of marine resources, with the assistance of M2, is widely replicable. While there have been more large-scale technologies proposed and developed to improve vessel monitoring, M2 is a unique solution, proven in the field, that empowers managers at a local level.