Between the Valdivian rainforest and the Pacific Ocean, the Huiro community will experience a historic milestone for community-led marine conservation in southern Chile next Friday, September 25: the official inauguration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve.
This project, driven since 2023 by the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association together with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Chile and Capital Azul Foundation, establishes a 15-hectare (37-acre) no-take zone within the association’s TURF (Territorial User Rights for Fisheries, known in Chile as AMERB; AMERB Guadei). This TURF-Reserve, recognized in the Benthic Law as a Voluntary Protection Zone, makes it possible to combine conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in a single system, restoring marine biodiversity and strengthening local socioeconomic resilience.
“As inhabitants of this territory, we have always lived from the sea and its cycles, but over the years we have seen several species become scarce, and we understood that we had to make decisions with a vision for the future. The Guadei TURF-Reserve was born from our own community conviction to give the sea a break so that species such as sierra (snoek), loco and Graus nigra can recover,” said Horacio Antillanca, secretary of the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association.
“This TURF-Reserve is not just a commitment to nature; it is a legacy for our families, so that future generations know the abundance we had and understand that artisanal fishers are also guardians of their sea territory,” he added.
A space for the community
The celebration will begin early in the morning with a guided educational intertidal tour along the Guadei coast. Children from the Corral school will explore the shoreline with members of the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association and facilitators from TNC Chile and Capital Azul, sharing local and scientific knowledge, getting a close look at the biodiversity the reserve seeks to protect and learning why it matters to protect the sea and its territory.
The official ceremony is scheduled for midday. It aims to be a gathering where attendees will review the history of the Guadei TURF-Reserve and hear from the leaders, authorities and representatives of the organizations behind this initiative.
The highlight of the day will be the unveiling of an official interpretive panel installed on the coast, designed as a permanent educational window to bring the richness of the marine ecosystem closer to residents and visitors. To close the event, the community and guests will share a reception featuring local food to celebrate this new beginning for the Corral sea territory.
“TURFs have shown that conservation and artisanal fishing can strengthen each other. In a context of climate change and growing pressure on marine resources, TURF-Reserves make it possible to recover biodiversity and increase the resilience of ecosystems and the communities that depend on them,” said Natalio Godoy, Oceans Director at TNC Chile.
“The evidence shows that protected areas within TURFs can reach higher levels of abundance and biomass of commercially important species than areas open to harvesting, generating benefits that extend to neighboring areas. What we see in Guadei is a concrete bet on a healthier ocean and sustainable local development for future generations,” Godoy added.
The inauguration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve represents a key milestone for community-led marine conservation in Chile: it shows that this model led by artisanal fishers is not limited to the central zone of the Valparaíso Region, where it has its roots, but is a paradigm that can be scaled to the south of the country and to other social contexts. By bringing together the vision of the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association, the strategic support of TNC and the science, experience and lessons of Capital Azul, we are showing that voluntary conservation within TURFs does not compete with fishing; it strengthens it.
Rodrigo Sánchez
Executive Director, Capital Azul
“This inauguration also marks the outreach phase, inviting the wider community to join in caring for the TURF-Reserve, strengthening the social fabric and opening new opportunities for sustainable local development for the community,” Sánchez added.
With the official inauguration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve, artisanal fishers in the Los Ríos Region and the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association are consolidating their leading role in ocean sustainability, paving the way for the community-led conservation model to spread along the coasts of southern Chile.
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