I would float around for hours, watching the sea life in the canal walls. Under the floating dock I was fascinated (and sort of spooked) by the huge fish lingering there, swaying under the water with their mouths opening and closing. The canal wall itself housed all sorts of ocean life – there were lobsters, crabs, and even an octopus. If you sat on the floating dock, it was not unusual to see brightly colored angel fish, triggerfish, and even seahorses swimming up to examine your toes. At the bottom of the canal you could see the alien-like outlines of the bodies of horseshoe crabs. The canal was teeming with life, and as a child I could not get enough of it.
We moved away from the Florida Keys in 1984 and left for the even-more-exotic Thailand. Upon our return to the United States, by circa 1989, my father and I flew out to get our house in the Keys ready to sell. I dove into the canal as I always had as a child, only to find murky waters and almost no sea life. A stray minnow was about all one could see. In the span of less than ten years, virtually all of the life in the canal had disappeared.
Living in the Keys once again, I share this story often, perhaps too much. The canals here are not as I remembered them as a child, though I’m sure some are still sustaining sea life. Clearly it made an impression on me, and I have hoped that I could somehow make a positive impact during my adulthood in the Florida Keys, so my kids could experience something close to what I experienced as a child. I love to meet people who are actually doing something to help ocean life. As such, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview inventor and entrepreneur Eric Le Quéré.
Eric Le Quéré’s deep connection with the ocean was nurtured along Brittany’s rugged coastline, where his childhood love of waves and sails led him to pursue naval engineering. Over the years, this passion and years spent at sea transformed into a lifelong commitment to maritime excellence.
Eric’s career spans diverse roles, from Captain/ship owner to Shipyard Owner/CEO and International Project Manager. These experiences have provided him with a profound understanding of the maritime industry’s challenges and opportunities, driving him to address some of its most pressing issues.
As an inventor and entrepreneur with a lifetime in the maritime sector, Eric is focused on creating meaningful impact with his technologies in three transformative areas: marine ecosystem protection (Boaxt), sustainable ocean resource management (Netless), and decarbonization of maritime transport (Wingfurl).
Eric explained each one of his inventions to me:
Boaxt is a modular platform that unfolds space on the water, offering versatile applications such as floating housing, events, and marine sustainability projects. Wingfurl is a revolutionary technology designed to decarbonize vessel propulsion, making maritime transport more sustainable. Finally, Netless is a fishing technology inspired by whales, allowing sustainable fishing without nets, while also removing marine plastic waste.
Eric has always had a natural inclination to create solutions to real-world problems. He explained that to invent something, one must first identify a need. Find a pressing challenge that requires a solution. Then find inspiration in solving it. Understand the problem deeply and explore nature, science, and technology for answers. Lastly, you must have the intellectual agility to conceive a solution. This requires a mix of knowledge, adaptability, and the ability to turn an idea into a tangible reality. Eric believes there are no real limits or obstacles to achieving sustainability goals, if stakeholders have the vision to innovate, the intention to drive change, and the resources to make it happen. If sustainability initiatives fail to progress, it is not due to a lack of possibilities, but rather due to political hesitation and a failure to assess the risks of inaction. He says the solutions exist – the only question is who will take the lead in implementing them?
Eric’s inventions most certainly solve a pressing challenge, and while my experience with ocean pollution is in the Florida Keys and Thailand, he is currently focusing on the Middle East. He explained to me that Middle Eastern economies have traditionally been reliant on oil and gas, with some exceptions like Dubai. However, these nations have amassed significant sovereign wealth funds and are now prioritizing sustainability and AI-driven projects. Given this shift, his technologies along with other sustainability-focused innovations align perfectly with their strategic focus on green energy, marine conservation, and alternative economic models. Having become keenly aware of the global CO2 and plastic pollution crisis, the Middle East is now recognizing both the moral imperative and financial opportunity and have prioritized impact-driven investments in sustainability and marine conservation.
Why the Middle East?
The Middle East offers an exceptional business environment, characterized by swift decision-making, strong government commitment to industrial innovation, and access to large-scale funding. Eric believes that by leveraging these advantages, we can accelerate manufacturing and deployment of maritime technologies not just in the Gulf, but globally. Parallels exist between global marine ecosystem challenges and those specific to the Gulf region. The Gulf region’s coastlines and marine waters are largely artificial, with limited currents and tidal exchanges, which results in a higher risk of plastic accumulation, reduced water circulation, and ecosystem degradation. Eric’s inventions, in particular Boaxt and Netless, could provide an immediate, cost-effective remedy to protect Gulf marine ecosystems as they tackle marine pollution and biodiversity protection. Eric believes we are currently in a critical transition period between traditional maritime technologies and next-generation innovations. Gulf countries, with their sovereign funds and commitment to sustainability, have a unique opportunity to accelerate funding for disruptive projects. By doing so, Eric believes they will gain a competitive edge in R&D and establish themselves as global leaders in maritime sustainability.
Since Dubai Expo 2020, and with the upcoming Riyadh Expo 2030, the Gulf has emerged as a global center for technological breakthroughs. The Middle East has strengthened international partnerships and has positioned itself as a leader in impact-driven investments. The Middle East has now positioned itself as a hub for innovation investment. For Middle Eastern nations to ensure that sustainability investments lead to real impact, for sustainability to truly drive change, Gulf nations and stakeholders must go beyond financial investment. There must be an absolute commitment to becoming global game changers. By positioning themselves at the forefront of socio-economic and environmental transformation, Middle Eastern nations can set new standards for sustainability worldwide. Funding and technology are no longer obstacles – sovereign funds exist, and intellectual property protections are in place. The main challenge is recruiting skilled teams for large-scale industrialization.
Luckily, the Gulf has a proven track record of attracting global talent for ambitious projects.
Eric Le Quéré is ready for those projects, and he has created the technologies. Each one is at a different state of maturity, offering immediate collaboration potential. Boaxt is ready for direct deployment. Netless is reaching full operational status by spring 2025. Wingfurl is moving into prototype phase by fall 2025.
These technologies provide practical, scalable solutions that can accelerate sustainability efforts in the Middle East and beyond.
Perhaps that beyond could be the Florida Keys one day.
If you would like to learn more about Eric Le Quéré and his world-changing inventions, please visit le-quere.com.
This article was originally published on OpsLens.