Bathymetric surveys provide vital information that informs decisions about marine environments and communities. Tomer Ketter of Map the Gaps and SubMerge, and Sefano M Katz of the Pacific Blue Foundation’s Beqa Lagoon Initiative, joined us on this episode of GEOTalks to share insights from a collaborative bathymetric survey they performed in the Beqa Lagoon in Fiji. The livelihood of Fiji’s people is tied to its land, waters, and the diverse ecosystem that thrives there. In the episode, they explored the impact of accessible bathymetric data on marine conservation, social equity, and cultural integrity in Fiji.

YouTube: https://ow.ly/bSn550SCpLQ Spotify: https://ow.ly/SSvO50SCpLS Apple: https://ow.ly/53pm50SCpLN

Timestamps [00:00] – Intro [00:52] – Meet our guests [02:12] – About Tomer Ketter’s work [04:19] – About Sefano M Katz’s work [06:14] – Goals of the bathymetric survey [07:39] – Reason for the survey [08:36] – Partnerships with Pacific Blue Foundation (PBF) [10:27] – Map the Gaps’ role in the survey [11:46] – Criteria for the survey site [14:31] – Natural and ecological threats (Climate change) [16:30] – Performing the bathymetric survey (Tomer’s POV) [19:07] – Limitations of the survey (Tomer’s POV) [21:15] – What post-processing is needed? (Tomer’s POV) [22:49] – Navigating tech challenges with collaboration (Sefano’s POV) [24:06] – Preparation for the survey (Sefano’s POV) [28:23] – The best part about the survey (Tomer’s POV) [31:15] – Surveys and Indigenous rights (Sefano’s POV) [33:38] – Developing the PBF’s mapping programs (Sefano’s POV) [34:30] – Connect with Sefano M Katz [35:50] – Connect with Tomer Ketter [37:19] – Outro

Resources Connect with Tomer Ketter on LinkedIn: https://ow.ly/yQ6O50S90bU Connect with Sefano M Katz on LinkedIn: https://ow.ly/vjU450S90e1 Map the Gaps: https://ow.ly/VZzm50S90uZ SubMerge: https://ow.ly/tB3x50S90sK Pacific Blue Foundation’s Beqa Lagoon Initiative: https://ow.ly/3U8j50S90pl Learn about the University of the South Pacific: https://ow.ly/Nw0h50S9Nlb Learn about Conservation International (LAU Seascape): https://ow.ly/pUpB50S9NFT

Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemarblegeo/?hl=en Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-marble-geographics/ Blue Marble Geographics Academic Scholarship: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/academic-programs/academic-scholarship-program/ Visit our website at https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/ Sign up for our newsletter: https://go.bluemarblegeo.com/subscribe Email marketing@bluemarblegeo.com for inquiries.

GeoTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. Blue Marble Geographics is a leader in GIS software development, providing professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.