Podcast 15, March 2025 - apologies for delay with this one - we've all been busy with a series of workshops and conferences, spreading the word about why seabed mapping matters and signing up new partners. This episode focuses on one of those meetings, the Economist World Ocean Summit held in Tokyo on 12th & 13th March 2025. Seabed 2030 and GEBCO representatives were present, with the Nippon Foundation playing a key part throughout the event. Nippon Foundation Chair Mr Sasakawa opened the event, and his opening speech in English is featured from 4m44s into this podcast.

We also hosted a 'How to shape global standards for blue data, technology and capacity building?' workshop on the second day, and you can listen to Dr Vicki Ferrini, head of our Atlantic & Indian Ocean Center, Amon Kimeli of our Partner the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute; Børre Pedersen, Earth observation and satellite services specialist, Kongsberg Satellite Service and Jyotika Virmani Executive director, Schmidt Ocean Institute in the second half of the podcast.

We'll be back in April after the Ocean Business trade show in Southampton 8-10 April where you'll be able to find us in the long marquee next to the dockside, sharing a booth with our Partners of the Marine Technology Society - see you there!

Contact Steve Hall, Head of Seabed 2030 Partnerships with any questions or if you'd like to be featured in a future episode of the Podcast.

With thanks to Emily Boddy for podcast music and intro narration.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For the first episode of 2025 Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall interviews Matthew Zimmerman, CEO and co-founder of FarSounder, based in Rhode Island USA, & one of our industry partners since Year 4 of the Project.
FarSounder specialise in products such as 3D forward-looking sonars that don't only look down to map the seabed, but also scan forwards to enable users to avoid whales snoozing near the surface, or collisions with objects such as containers.
FarSounder are very active in supporting Crowdsourced Bathymetry, and in outreach about the importance of seabed mapping for public benefit.
Find out more about FarSounder at https://www.farsounder.com and you can contact Matthew via info@farsounder.com
Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org and contact podcast host & producer Steve Hall here. You can find on us Social Media as Seabed 2030.
With thanks to Matthew for the interview, and to Emily Boddy for Podcast music and voiceover.
We'll be back throughout 2025 with a range of interview, check our webpage for forthcoming events.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

Episode 13 is our longest episode to date and features interviews recorded during the 6th Pacific Ocean Mapping Meeting that took place in Fiji in November 2024. With some 90 participants from 27 nations, the meeting was a rare opportunity for mappers, marine managers, industry representatives and members of Seabed 2030's supporting organisations to meet face to face, and learn first hand from citizens of Pacific island nations about the issues and challenges they face, and why seabed mapping matters so much to them.

For this podcast, Steve Hall our Head of Partnerships conducts 4 interviews:
Apenisa Cavuilati of the Fiji Hydrographic Service
Evert Flier - Chair of the GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean) Guiding Committee
Kyle Goodrich - President and Founder of TCarta
Emma Oliver of the Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources and Environment and ENB Sea Keepers

Apenisa gives a welcome to Fiji and gives some background about the meeting; Evert expands on the value of holding the meeting in person and learning from the local community - and describes just how vast the Pacific Ocean is.
Kyle gives us an industry perspective, TCarta was one of the original Seabed 2030 industry partners and brings satellite-based observations into the field of ocean mapping, with customers including the UK Hydrographic Office.
Lastly, and with the longest interview recorded by Zoom after the Fiji meeting from her home in Papua New Guinea, Steve speaks to Emma about the particular challenges faced by her community, and why ocean mapping and growing the New Blue Economy can provide a better future for the next generation.

Please send any questions for the interviewees or feedback on this episode to Steve Hall. Find out more about Seabed 2030 see www.seabed2030.org, and listen out for our next episode early in 2025.

Have a peaceful holiday season, and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 12 of the Seabed 2030 podcast, Head of Partnerships Steve Hall interviews Denis Hains (see LinkedIn profile) Hydrospatial Global Influencer, President and CEO of H2i.
Denis is a long-standing champion for ocean mapping, having served in a series of international influential roles including as Hydrographer General of Canada & Director General of the Canadian Hydrographic Service.
He is a member of the Seabed 2030 Strategic Advisory Group, and although he retired from Canadian government service in 2018, he has remained a prolific & visible contributor to the ocean mapping community with many pro-bono professional advisory activities.
Denis was the recipient of the 2024 Sam Masry Award issued by the Canadian Hydrographic Association and is author or co-author of numerous papers and popular technical policy articles.
In this interview Denis talks about his career, about why he is passionate in his advocacy for 'Hydrospatial' as a term describing the work of this domain sector. Link here to an article explaining that 'Hydrospatial' is not about replacing 'hydrography', and here to find the LinkedIn Hydrospatial group.
Denis goes on to explain why Seabed 2030 matters as a mechanism for delivering the first global map of the ocean, and about the importance and enthusiasm of the next generation of ocean mappers in the Hydrospatial domain, and why education, experience, continuous learning - and most importantly professional networking, are vital for early career professionals to build their career.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 11 of the Seabed 2030 podcast, head of partnerships Steve Hall interviews David Vincentelli of French manufacturer Exail - a high-tech industrial group specialising in cutting-edge robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics technologies. With a first-rate reputation for their innovative products, Exail now manufacturer a well-regarded marine autonomous survey platform, the DriX vehicle, available in a variety of sizes and specifications.
Able to survey at 8 knots and with the latest version capable of full trans-ocean range, DriX is another excellent example of how new robotic technologies are helping Seabed 2030's data acquisition partners map the global ocean.
In this interview David describes his career to date, Exail's background in intertial navigation systems, and the development and progress of the DriX range of vehicles. Exail are shortly due to sign a MoU with Seabed 2030 and several of their customers are already key suppliers of seabed data.
David also touches on other aspects of Exail's product range such as quantum gravimeters which help us to map areas that have yet to be surveyed by echo sounder systems.
Any questions for David he can be contacted here.
We'll be back in August for podcast 12. Any questions or feedback please contact Steve Hall. Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org
Addition narration and music by Emily Boddy.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

Episode 10 of the Seabed 2030 podcast features Head of Partnerships Steve Hall talking on the theme of "Why do we map the Ocean?" - he looks at the history of human seafaring, the gradual evolution of mapping technologies, the challenges and uses of seabed mapping, ending with a section on how mapping fits into the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Find out more about Seabed 2030 at seabed2030.org, any questions or for more details contact Steve Hall.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 9 of the Seabed 2030 podcast we've used a recording made of the session hosted by the International Hydrographic Organisation during the UN Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona in April. The session was called "The Seabed Data we need for the Ocean We Want" and started with three keynotes moderated by Claire Jolly of OECD - Dr Mathias Jonas, IHO Secretary General; Mr Mitsuyuki Unno, Executive Director of the Nippon Foundation; Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Adviser of DEFRA, UK; followed by a panel session moderated by Sam Harper of IHO consisting of lawyer Dr Virginie Tassom Campanella; Mr Virgil Zetterlind the Director of 'Protected Seas'; Mr Pierre Bahurel of MERCATOR; and Dr Jyotika Virmani of the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
Unfortunately due to a technical issue the keynote by Dr Jonas failed to record but all of the others are on this podcast, but without the Q&A session as permission could not be sought from members of the audience.
We hope you find this session of interest - thank you for listening!
Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org
Contact podcast producer Steve Hall at partnerships@seabed2030.org
Music & opening/closing narration by Emily Boddy
Seashore wave recordings from Aberavon Beach, Wales

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For our 8th episode Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall talks to colleague Shereen Sharma, Head of Seabed 2030 Engagement and Development, who is based in Perth, Australia.
Shereen talks about her career in private sector hydrographic survey before joining Seabed 2030, explains her role including her involvement in the challenging TESMaP hydrographic survey in the aftermath of the 2022 Hunga Tonga - Huna Ha'apai volcanic eruption, which included the use of Sea-Kit's Maxlimer USV controlled from the other side of the planet, and her work with Nippon Foundation GEBCO Alumni.
Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org & if you'd like to be featured on the podcast or have feedback, please contact producer Steve Hall.
Many thanks to Emily Boddy for podcast music & intro, background beach sounds recorded by Steve Hall at Aberavon Beach, South Wales.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO