New agreement to bolster oceanographic capacity in the Pacific

The Pacific Community (SPC) and the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM) signed a memorandum of understanding today covering a broad range of topics, including marine flood and tsunami forecasting and warning, sustainable ocean management, safety of navigation, data acquisition to describe the seabed and water column, and ocean modelling.  

SPC, through its Geoscience, Energy and Maritime division and the Pacific Community Centre for Ocean Science (PCCOS), share expertise with SHOM and have common concerns and objectives, particularly with regards to ensuring the use of the best available data and expertise for decision-makers in the Pacific region. 

“When I look at what SPC does on ocean science, like data collection using satellite imagery, LIDAR data or hydrographic surveying, ocean modelling or sea-level monitoring, there is so much we do in common. This agreement will put collaboration into practice,” said Laurent Kerléguer, Director-General of SHOM. 

SPC's Director-General. Dr Stuart Minchin emphasised the potential  this agreement can unleash: “A partnership between SPC and SHOM can help strengthening the collaboration on hydrographic and oceanographic services for the region not only in terms of data sharing, but also for future joint ocean expeditions, shared scientific equipment and much more.”  

The agreement lists broad fields of collaboration and a series of cooperation actions that SPC will look at implementing in the upcoming months and years with SHOM’s Pacific Oceanographic Group, which has field presence in French Polynesia and New Caledonia. 

About SPC:
The Pacific Community has been supporting sustainable development in the Pacific, through science, knowledge and innovation since 1947. It is the principal intergovernmental organisation in the region, owned and governed by its 27 member countries and territories. www.spc.int 
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About SHOM:
The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanic Service (SHOM) is a French public administrative establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, heir to the first official hydrographic service in the world (1720). It is the public operator for maritime and coastal geographic information. Its mission is to know and describe the physical marine environment in its relations with the atmosphere, the seabed and coastal areas, to forecast its evolution and to ensure the dissemination of the corresponding information. 

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