Supporting the effective design, management and monitoring of protected areas
Combines commercial fishing activity and non-fishing vessel activity related to offshore oil drilling, fuel supply, seabed mining, and cargo and passenger transportation, which is essential for effective monitoring.
Displays environmental data over time, when and where human activity takes place and how it changes, including where activity has shifted following the implementation of new management measures.
Allows for better understanding of biological productivity, shows habitat data for key ecosystems and supports the monitoring of climate change impacts over time.
Upload personal datasets—including maritime boundaries and animal tracks—in various formats for enhanced visualization and analysis alongside human activity and environmental data.
What is Marine Manager?
Developed in partnership with Dona Bertarelli, Marine Manager is an innovative technology portal that seeks to improve insight into marine protected areas. By monitoring the quality, efficiency and impact of long-term protections, Marine Manager aims to ensure robust and science-based management of protected areas and in acknowledgement of the vital contributions they make to our ocean.
The portal empowers individuals to rapidly collate and analyze scientific data integral to the governance of marine protected areas and other area-based conservation measures. The revolutionary technology and accessible, science-based data can help advance global efforts to improve oversight of human activity in and around marine protected areas and help facilitate stewardship of marine resources.
Marine Manager Sites
Ascension Island
Protecting a unique ecosystem in the South Atlantic
After a marine protected area was established around Ascension Island, officials sought tools to help them monitor and manage it. The area, which covers 445,000 square kilometers, is home to vulnerable seabirds and contains a large range of habitats that include biodiversity hotspots. Managers found the key to protecting these waters lies with technology.
Tristan da Cunha
Helping a remote island community safeguard its waters
Tristan da Cunha, the most remote permanent settlement on Earth, boasts rich marine biodiversity. So when the Tristan territorial government committed in 2020 to designate 91 percent of its waters as a marine protection zone, Global Fishing Watch, in partnership with the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, reached out to help.
Guyana
Protecting a unique ecosystem in the South Atlantic
When a major global energy company discovered oil and gas reserves off the coast of Guyana in 2015, the nonprofit group Guyana Marine Conservation Society took immediate notice. The group’s leaders knew that the discovery would spark a rapid and significant increase in vessel traffic in Guyanese waters and raise the potential for oil spills, rig fires and other accidents—all of which could threaten the country’s valuable fisheries and biodiversity.
Tristan da Cunha
Helping a remote island community safeguard its waters
Tristan da Cunha, the most remote permanent settlement on Earth, boasts rich marine biodiversity. So when the Tristan territorial government committed in 2020 to designate 91 percent of its waters as a marine protection zone, Global Fishing Watch, in partnership with the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, reached out to help.
Marine Manager Helps Protect Waters of the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Global Fishing Watch’s Marine Manager is supporting stewardship of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, commonly referred to as CMAR—a cluster of marine protected areas (MPAs) that span more than 772,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers) and connect the waters of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama.
Rich in biodiversity, CMAR is teeming with wildlife. Tuna, sharks, sea turtles, whales, rays, seabirds and other various marine life occupy the ocean corridor in search for food, spawning and nursery grounds, as well as migratory routes that follow underwater mountain ranges.Â
Established in 2004 by Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama, CMAR is also a leading example of regional cooperation in the management and conservation of marine resources. What began as an initiative to protect the Malpelo and Gorgona Islands, Coiba Island, the Galapagos Islands and Cocos Island has now expanded to new types of marine protection, providing stronger safeguards and better connectivity for the multiple species thriving in it.
In 2021, these same four coastal States announced an expansion of the corridor with the inclusion of new protected areas, such as the YuruparÃ-Malpelo Integrated Management District. And progression continues with CMAR’s latest additions: the Bicentennial Marine Management Area, the Hermandad Marine Reserve and the Lomas y Colinas del PacÃfico Norte Integrated Management District.
To help inform management decisions and support data-driven conservation policies, local and regional authorities are using the marine manager portal to understand each protected area’s unique set of challenges and find solutions that address them. With support from Global Fishing Watch analysts, marine managers are also able to collectively identify areas of interest within each MPA and support coordination and information sharing among them.
The Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor
Our portal is endorsed as a Decade Action as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.