Stefan Gelcich is a marine biologist and an Assistant Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. His studies are principally focused on subtidal ecology, the interactions between ecological and social systems in coastal zones, conservation and sustainable management of marine resources, and analysis of public policies aimed at managing natural resources. Social, economic, and biological implications of granting exclusive use rights to organizations of small-scale artisanal fishers has been of particular interest to Stefan. 

Stefan currently leads a project focused on marine ecosystem services in Chile, and another project focused on the use of different marine management and conservation strategies and their consequences in terms of biodiversity and human wellbeing. His work is continually published in international journals accross the social and natural sciences, and has received numerous distinctions. Stefan has ample experience in teaching and interdisciplinary research projects, both in Chile as well as abroad. In 2014, he was awarded a Pew Fellowship to explore biodiversity protection in areas with Territorial User Rights for Fisheries as a mechanism for scaling-up marine conservation.

In his collaboration with LAFF, Stefan teaches special topics courses exploring fisheries management in Latin America through the lense of coupled social-ecological systems. Stefan serves as a mentor and champion for fisheries management and conservation practioners pursuing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding problems and solutions in coastal Latin America.

Gelcich earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology at the Universidad Católica del Norte, a master’s in Environment and Development at Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in Coastal Resource Management at the University of Wales, Bangor, in the United Kingdom.