The present study, commissioned by the French Agency for Biodiversity (Agence française pour la biodiversité, AFB), is part of the "Pacific Biodiversity Blue Belt" project. It covers four Pacific island Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs): French Polynesia (PF), New Caledonia (NC), Wallis & Futuna (WF) and Pitcairn (Pi). These French (PF, NC and WF) and British (Pi) territories are characterised by vast maritime areas and geographical isolation from their home States. These areas are subject to numerous and very heterogeneous uses and activities (maritime traffic, oceanic fisheries, reef fisheries, recreational activities, tourism, etc.), and are associated with major socio-economic and sustainable development issues. The resources available to the OCTs to monitor human activities in their maritime zones, and in particular in their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), are often very limited with regard to their size and fragmentation, and hence the need to identify innovative surveillance technologies. However, most managers in charge of large maritime areas still lack knowledge of the technologies that could be adapted to specific local and regional contexts.
