The International SeaKeepers Society has spent 12 years at the service of the world’s oceans. The last two years have been particularly trying due to the nearly worldwide recession. With the ambitious goal of supplying the international scientific community with information on the world's changing oceans, there are many questions about how the Society is fulfilling its mission. In this article, Chairman Michael T. Moore articulates the organization’s new goals and direction, including its recently announced partnership with Yachts International to help spread the word. (read more)

New Alliance with Yachts International Magazine To Take Society To "The Next Level"

The International SeaKeepers Society, the charity borne of yachtsmen, and Yachts International magazine, the #1 selling U.S. luxury yacht magazine, have announced
an exclusive, high-profile media partnership to advance SeaKeepers mission to expand science-based understanding and analysis of our changing oceans and promote better stewardship of the world's most precious resource.

“We are thrilled about this new collaboration,” said SeaKeepers Chairman Michael T. Moore. “As a leader in the megayacht publishing industry, Yachts International is an . . . read more

Many thanks to the Tampa Bay Mariners Club for inviting SeaKeepers to participate in its Annual Seminar.  Even more thanks to volunteer Matthew Valcourt of Fowler White Burnett P.A. for representing the Society at the Annual Seminar. And, perhaps, the most thanks of all to Alycia McGlone of Wallace, Welch & Willingham’s Marine Division who went above and beyond as Mariners Club Skipper and requested the Club donate the proceeds from its two raffles to the Society! As a small non-for-profit, SeaKeepers relies heavily on donor support, and Alycia and Matthew are two outstanding examples of how everyone can help. To invite SeaKeepers to speak at your community gathering about the oceans and what you can do to make a difference, please contact info@seakeepers.org.

Theory of Phytoplankton Growth Overturned, Raise Concerns for Ocean Productivity

A new study concludes that an old, fundamental and widely accepted theory of how and why phytoplankton bloom in the oceans is incorrect.The findings challenge more than 50 years of conventional wisdom about the growth of phytoplankton, which are the ultimate basis for almost all ocean life and major fisheries. And they also raise concerns that global warming, rather than stimulating ocean productivity, may actually curtail it in some places. This analysis was published in the journal Ecology by Michael Behrenfeld, a professor of botany at Oregon State University, and one of the world's leading experts in the use of remote sensing technology to examine ocean productivity. The study was supported by NASA. (read more)

Florida University Uses SeaKeeper 1000 System in Relation to Coral Reef Ecosystem Study

Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center is using a SeaKeeper 1000™ in a study to measure the exchange of water and nutrients (pollutants) through Port Everglades, using the Port Everglades Ship Channel Observatory, and to relate this exchange to its direct impact on the Southeast Coral Reef Ecosystem.

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NOAA Grants SeaKeepers $100,000

The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $100,000 to the Society in support of the continued operation and maintenance of 10 SeaKeeper 1000 monitoring systems deployed on member yachts. The grant will be used to (1) test the stability of the pH and O2 sensors of the ocean sensor suites, (2) further develop the protocols and training program for the crew aboard these vessels, and (3) further develop the SeaKeeper 1000 software to incorporate time-series displays and statistics for data gathered. “This award is very encouraging,” said President Dean C. Klevan. “Not only is the money needed to maintain the quality of data the community expects from SeaKeepers, this grant from NOAA continues to prove the value in the system itself.”

A Celebration and a Few Special Surprises

The SeaKeepers Celebration! was held on the eve of the Fort Lauderdale boat show to commemorate the activation of Nova Southeastern University's SeaKeeper 1000™ system at Port Everglades, a project underwritten by the members and sponsors of SeaKeepers Professionals. The 150-plus attendees, which included many of the premier captains in the superyacht industry, were treated to a surprise appearance by . . . read more

SeaKeepers is excited to announce the development of its new Visual Data Acquisition and Reporting System (VDARS). On a standard SeaKeeper 1000™ system, data sets are typically recorded on the hard drive once a minute. Every one to three hours, the last 10 minutes of these measurements are averaged, stamped with GPS/date/time coordinates, and transmitted from the vessel via satellite. The new SeaKeepers-VDARS will finally allow on board access to the one-minute data sets and associated metadata. The new VDARS was recently introduced to the scientific community via an online webinar. The session was recorded and now available for all to "attend." If you have any questions regarding the presentation, are interested in purchasing a system, or want to learn more about other potential configurations, such as the new portable system, please forward an email with your inquiry to engineering@seakeepers.org.

Carnival Cruise Lines Get Involved with Oil Detection

Carnival Cruise Lines will help map the spread of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, using a ship that berths at Port of Tampa and several other cruise vessels. A sensor in a SeaKeeper 1000 on the hull of the 1,000-foot Carnival Legend will collect petroleum hydrocarbon data from the Gulf of Mexico and other waters on its cruises from Tampa to ports of call in the Western Caribbean and transmit information via satellite to University of South Florida College of Marine Science. (read more)

YSI Appointed Exclusive Licensee for SeaKeeper 1000™

The SeaKeepers board of directors recently approved an agreement to extend a license to YSI, a major company in the field of water quality monitoring, to develop commercial markets for the SeaKeeper 1000™ oceanographic, atmospheric and climate monitoring system.

The move, which has been in discussion by the board for several years, accomplishes several critical objectives simultaneously. It eliminates significant overhead from the charity, which in the past half-dozen years has seen its costs escalate dramatically ...read more