SEAKEEPERS NOW OFFERING FEE-FREE USE OF ITS PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY

In an effort to further its goal of reducing the cost and increasing the effectiveness of ocean monitoring, the SeaKeepers Board of Directors has unanimously approved other organizations and institutions to use its proprietary ocean monitoring system without a licensing fee.

       The FSIS™ Mounting Module

Voting at its annual meeting in February, the SeaKeepers Board followed the recommendation of CEO, John Englander, who said, “This will encourage other institutions to adapt SeaKeepers’ Ferrybox Sensor Interface Standard™ rather than investing considerable time and expense to develop their own systems.” Standardizing surface water monitoring equipment will also provide enormous impetus to manufacturers to develop new water sensors. “There’s really no need for every university or agency to re-invent the ocean monitoring wheel,” Englander said. “By encouraging the use of the SeaKeeper system as a standard for the ocean-monitoring community, we make this kind of marine data collection less expensive and, at the same time, make it economically feasible for the industry to develop new sensors to vastly improve the quality of marine data.”

Traditionally, ferry boxes were designed by scientists and mounted on either research vessels or ferries to support specific research projects. SeaKeepers has now deployed 46 automated systems measuring seawater temperature, conductivity, salinity, acidity, dissolved oxygen and oxygen reduction potential. Different manufacturers are now developing new sensors to measure harmful algal blooms (red tides), trace metals, nitrates, nutrients, and dissolved CO2.

“This decision is very much in keeping with our expanded vision of the next phase of SeaKeepers’ development,” said Don Tomlin, board chairman. “The cost of researching and developing the SeaKeepers 1000 monitoring system was a gift from our members to the world. With its decision the board is simply making sure this gift is as widely and efficiently used as humanly possible.”

Another reason for making this decision, Tomlin said, was that the Society was increasingly being viewed as a seller of monitoring equipment. “We want to make very clear that the only business we’re in is the business of restoring and protecting the ocean,” he said.

Englander added that as the Ferrybox standard is adopted and more ferry boxes are deployed, efficiencies in manufacture and volume will reduce cost and bring real-time monitoring of the environment and pollution within reach of more governments, municipalities, and institutions. He also said, “SeaKeepers hopes that cost efficiencies encouraged by free licensing will give seawater monitoring capabilities to more local communities and developing countries worldwide”.

At the Oceanology International trade show in London, Geoff Morrison, Technical Director, (far right) explains the features of the flow-through SeaKeeper 1000 TM modular sensor design to Dr. Richard Spinrad (2nd from left), Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The Oceanology trade show is the leading venue for ocean measuring technology. SeaKeepers used the forum to announce the pro bono licensing of its Innovative modular sensor technology. Also looking on are John Englander, SeaKeeper CEO, and Regis Cook, Director of Marketing at General Oceanics, the Systems integrator for the SeaKeeper 1000 monitoring equipment