Between the cliffs where the Valdivian rainforest meets the Pacific Ocean, the local community, representatives of public institutions and NGOs gathered to celebrate the official inauguration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve in the town of Huiro, in the Corral district.
This initiative, 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). Under the legal figure of a Voluntary Protection Zone, recognized in Chile’s Benthic Law, the model shows that it is possible to combine the productivity of artisanal fishing with the restoration of biodiversity in a single system.
Toward coexistence with the ocean
With rain falling on and off, the celebration began early in the morning with an educational activity for a group of around 15 children from the Corral Municipal School. They immersed themselves in marine life on a walk to a lookout point with a privileged view of the TURF-Reserve. There, on a tour led by community members, the children learned, with plenty of curiosity, about the history of the place and the species the reserve seeks to protect, discovering firsthand why it matters to care for the sea and its territory.
The official ceremony then became a space for community and institutional encounter, backed by regional and local authorities and partner institutions, including representatives of the Municipality of Corral, Sernapesca (National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service), Subpesca (Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture), the Regional Ministry of the Environment, Carabineros (Chile’s national police), the Chilean Navy and civil society organizations. Neighbors from the area also joined in, all of them getting involved in caring for this TURF-Reserve, the first outside the Valparaíso Region, the birthplace of Voluntary Protection Zones.
During the event, attendees took a brief look back at the history of the Guadei TURF-Reserve, highlighting the community’s vision of giving the sea a break so that key species such as kelp, loco, sierra (snoek) and Graus nigra can recover. But the goal is also to sustain traditions.
“We are thrilled to reach this significant milestone for the Association, but also for the territory. I think we are all winning in one way or another. This milestone for the district means that we are raising our voice on protection, protection from our own perspective as Indigenous peoples, from the perspective of the territory. We hope this will drive us forward and give us more strength to keep going, thanks to the large number of people who joined us,” said Horacio Antillanca, president of the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association. He took over the role from his father, Juvenal, in an emotional moment marked by a symbolic handover of the legacy to future generations.
“Here we don’t only conserve species or marine and land ecosystems; we also conserve the history of the people who came and stayed in this territory. That is the story we also want to tell: our ways of life, respecting the cycles we have learned from nature over the years. That is the hallmark we want to give the TURF-Reserve, showing that conservation can come from local communities themselves,” he added.
A window to the sea
After the speeches, words of good wishes and a cueca dance, one of the main moments of the ceremony was the unveiling of the Guadei TURF-Reserve interpretive panel. Strategically placed on the coast as a permanent educational window that connects residents and visitors with the area’s rich biodiversity, the sign highlights species such as the loco, the marine otter (chungungo) and the humpback whale, as well as points of interest shown on an illustrated map of the territory, with a strong emphasis on building a relationship of coexistence with the ocean.
“I want to highlight the shared responsibility in this project, which has taken considerable time and in which the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association has led the process that brings us to the celebration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve inauguration. The TURF-Reserve represents an enormous opportunity for young people and women to be represented in the management of the area and its sustainable development, and we hope future generations will be part of its governance for the prosperity of the sea and the communities that depend on it,” said Natalio Godoy, Oceans Director at TNC Chile.
“The inauguration of the Guadei TURF-Reserve shows that the TURF-Reserve model, co-created with artisanal fishers, can be scaled to southern Chile. By bringing together ecological and local knowledge, the backing of TNC and the experience of Capital Azul, we show that voluntarily protecting portions of the sea does not compete with fishing; it strengthens it, while opening new opportunities for sustainable local development. And all of this becomes even more powerful when you can feel the strong commitment of the Huiro Indigenous Fishers Association and an entire community eager to support the initiative,” added Rodrigo Sánchez, Executive Director of Capital Azul Foundation.
For his part, Víctor Cárdenas, Regional Director of Sernapesca, said: “Today we are seeing the sea not only as a place for extraction, but also as a place that must be protected and cared for.”
Now, thanks to the Guadei TURF-Reserve, the cold waters of Corral are becoming a living open-air classroom. Between the whisper of the Valdivian forest and the heartbeat of the Pacific, the Huiro community shows that when artisanal fishing, science, institutions and the community sail together, the ocean can move toward a different future. This milestone marks not only the birth of a Voluntary Protection Zone, but also a firm commitment that future generations on the Corral coast will keep sailing in a more prosperous and resilient sea.
RELATED NEWS
