Our History - Mission
"An organization of international
leaders which promotes synergy among citizens, governments,
educational institutions and corporations to restore
and protect the world’s oceans."
Our Imperiled Oceans
Healthy oceans modulate the world’s climate
and provide food and economic sustenance for billions
of people. They also present us with a myriad of
opportunities for physical and spiritual renewal
and inspire us with their beauty and their majesty.
As we enter the 21st century, however, the oceans
are imperiled. Vitally important fish species are
on the verge of extinction. Beaches and coastal
areas are polluted. Toxic algal blooms threaten
seaside populations. The oceans are rapidly losing
their capacity to buffer us from potentially catastrophic
climate changes. By embracing the International
SeaKeepers Society, the yachting community and other
entrepreneurs, corporations, divers, scientists
and concerned citizens are playing a front-line
role in saving the oceans.
How pivotal is our role? The chief scientist
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) has publicly commented that the SeaKeepers
Society monitoring program “will revolutionize
the way marine science is conducted in the future.”
NOAA has a formal agreement with the Society to
distribute SeaKeepers data to weather forecasters,
government agencies and ocean research institutes
around the world.
The
Beginning
When SeaKeepers began 1998, (originally as The
International Society for Ocean Monitoring and
Research) the premise was simple, specific, and
altruistic.
Could a group of private yacht owners effectively
create a new system for oceanographic monitoring,
utilizing their vessels as the initial platform
for deployment?
Could the system play a meaningful role in helping
to measure what is happening in the sea with the
ultimate purpose of aiding conservation of the
declining marine ecosystem?
SeaKeepers members believed the answer to both
those question was, “Yes!” All concerned
can be proud of the successful outcome. A small
band of individuals did, indeed, create SeaKeepers
and the SeaKeeper 1000TM and have seen it through
its first eight years of development, sustaining
it as a nonprofit organization with valuable technological
asset. The SeaKeeper 1000 is proving itself a
very viable and flexible ocean monitoring system.
The SeaKeepers name has developed substantial
recognition and various parties are interested
in partnering with us.
With the initial research and development phase
behind us, the next challenging issues of advocacy
and education, which will guide the future of
the International SeaKeepers Society, are equally
important.
See Eight Years Later
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