IT firm maps seabed habitats

A Nelson company is developing a high-tech system of mapping the seabed more precisely than ever before.

Seabed Mapping International is creating computer software and hardware that will combine information about the seabed and marine habitats into a package tailored for clients' specific needs.

Managing director George Clement said the project, which was jointly funded by the company and Technology New Zealand, was the first of its type in the world.

The resulting maps would be a lot more detailed than seabed maps created using acoustic surveys, he said.

"If an acoustic survey produces a street map to a particular area of the sea, these maps will be like house plans."

Mr Clement said the maps would combine information from acoustic seabed surveys and data gathered from clients' vessels, such as echo-sounding readings of particular areas.

They could be loaded on to standard electronic navigational equipment, giving clients a three-dimensional model of the seabed.

He said these would give clients, such as fishing companies, more detailed information about the seabed.

Knowledge of seabed contours was essential for locating fish, as each species had its own habitat.

The maps would be kept on a computer disk encoded to operate only on a specific client's computer system in order to protect the knowledge.

Seabed Mapping International launched the new project at the beginning of the year and was just starting to produce precision maps now.

Mr Clement said it was the first company in the world to commercially use the sonar seabed mapping system, originally developed for the United States military.

- NZPA