Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday with Protected Seas

On January 13th, 2023, 1-2 PM UTC, we will have the Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday with ProtectedSeas. Virgil Zetterlind, Director, and Deirdre Brannigan, Communications and Community Engagement Liaison will present Protected Sea’s work on using regulatory data to inform marine spatial planning efforts.

Being able to access rules and regulations in marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical to understanding which MPAs or OECM (other effective conservation measures) have restrictions in place to meet conservation goals. The ProtectedSeas Navigator mapping project is a one-stop resource for policymakers to find out where MPAs are located as well as discover the existing regulations and evaluate their various levels of protection. This regulations-based tool can be used to inform protection analyses and aid in forecasting other areas that need protection. Currently ProtectedSeas has data for over 24,000 MPAs in more than 200 countries –the only place this comprehensive repository of information and data exists. ProtectedSeas is in a formal public-private partnership with the US NOAA MPA Center. This session will be of special interest to MPA managers, resource protection staff, policy makers, scientists, politicians, educators, and the conservation community who are interested in assessing ocean conservation regulations and protection metrics.

Virgil Zetterlind is the Director of ProtectedSeas, which provides a comprehensive online encyclopedia of marine protected areas (MPAs) called Navigator in over 200 countries and territories and the high seas, including their rules and regulations. ProtectedSeas also deploys low-cost radar systems to monitor vessels in nearshore marine protected areas. He is a leading expert in remote sensing, mobile/web mapping, citizen science applications, and processing and visualization of GIS Data. He has worked on various research and development projects for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Google Earth, NSF, and NASA. He is an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer.

Deirdre Brannigan supports the team by designing pathways for outreach, engagement, and communications. She liaises with MPA practitioners, national & international policymakers, scientists, congressionals, and the conservation community who are interested in assessing ocean conservation regulations and protection metrics. Deirdre encourages broad usage of ProtectedSeas Navigator data to streamline and inform marine spatial planning. Previously, as an employee of the federal agencies charged with managing the nation’s extraordinary protected lands and marine sanctuaries, Deirdre worked in natural resource management– protecting, preserving, and promoting the nation’s wild places.