Michael Scholl, CEO of the Save Our Seas Foundation and Sonja Betschart Co-Founder of WeRobotics explores this question.
Save Our Seas is a Geneva based foundation dedicated to protecting life in our oceans, especially sharks and rays. The organization supports researchers, conservationists and educators across the globe. They have centers in Florida, Seychelles and South Africa, dedicated to learning about sharks and rays and sharing that knowledge. Michael has more 20 years of experience researching and studying sharks. His efforts have been featured in television documentaries by the BBC, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel and in publications including Science, Nature, BBC Wildlife Magazine, and Africa Geographic. WeRobotics promotes the positive impact of drones across multiple social sectors, particularly in developing and at-risk countries. Prior to joining WeRobotics, Sonja was on the Board of Directors of Drone Adventures, a non-profit organization in Switzerland dedicated to showing the great potential of drones to protect our planet and support local communities. In 2015, Drone Adventures and Save Our Seas teamed up on a project to map a shark ecosystem in the Seychelles using a drone. In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Michael and Sonja share their experience of that mapping project, offer some lessons learned and give us some insights into sharks, their ecosystem and the future of drones in marine research.