SeaSketch is a web-based platform for the collaborative design of marine spatial plans, including the collection and discussion of map data. The application itself is a software Service (aka, “software as a service” or SaaS) hosted on a single website: www.seasketch.org. Each project within SeaSketch may display map data that are hosted on servers and websites distributed around the world.
Read MoreAs part of the SeaChange Project, the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) and Aukland University of Technology conducted an extensive survey of ocean uses around the Hauraki Gulf. After successfully running the survey with thousands of participants, DOC and the University were able to identify usability issues with SeaSketch's digitizing interface. Together we developed an improved user interface and DOC funded our efforts so that we could create an improved workflow that will benefit all projects starting today.
Read MoreIn a collaboration with Ben Halpern at the UCSB Bren School for Environmental Science and Management, the SeaSketch team is developing a project to bring cumulative impact models to marine spatial planners. Available as an "out-of-the-box" service, SeaSketch projects may display the cumulative impact model published in Science by Halpern et al, 2008.
Read MoreThe Waitt Institute is heading up the Barbuda Blue Halo Initiative, a project that involves a comprehensive ocean plan for sustainable fisheries. SeaSketch is being used to developing the zoning plan that includes no-take sanctuaries, mooring and anchorage zones and no-net zones. Check out this video posted by Ayana Johnson that includes footage of SeaSketch being used in the field.
This week, we used SeaSketch extensively in over cellular networks on the Island of Barbuda. It worked like a charm. People often ask what kind of bandwidth is required to run SeaSketch. It's a web-based platform, so how does this work in places that don't have ethernet or cable networks? We put it to the test this week when we met with stakeholders in Barbuda, where we consistently operated SeaSketch over a cellular network.
Read MoreThe McClintock Lab is located at the University of California Santa Barbara, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
