Welcoming Ainsley Leaning: advancing marine spatial planning with hydroacoustics
We congratulate Ainsley Leaning as the newest PhD scholar joining a collaborative project between Griffith University, Echoview Software, and the Blue Economy CRC.
Ainsley’s research will focus on using hydroacoustic technology (echosounders) to support marine spatial planning for sustainable blue economy development. By identifying key ecosystem health indicators and evaluating current monitoring practices, she aims to improve how we collect, interpret, and apply hydroacoustic data for better decision-making in marine environments.
Ainsley said, “I am truly excited about my PHD journey at Griffith University and being supported by a range of marine experts within the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (BECRC) and Echoview. I look forward to finding novel ways to use hydroacoustics to characterise marine ecosystems with Echoview’s powerful hydroacoustic data processing software. Thank you BECRC and Echoview for supporting my work.
This project supports broader efforts to make marine spatial planning more data-driven and efficient, particularly by exploring monitoring approaches using echosounder technology. Ainsley will work closely with the Echoview team to harness our expertise and software in active acoustic data analysis for ecosystem assessments.
Brett Merritt, CEO of Echoview Software, said “Congratulations to Ainsley. We’re delighted to welcome you to this exciting collaboration. Echoview is proud to support research that advances the role of hydroacoustics in marine spatial planning. This project will contribute to the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy and other blue economy activities. We’re pleased to support both your journey and the broader goals of the Blue Economy CRC.”
This partnership reflects Echoview’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the role of hydroacoustic science in sustainable ocean development.
We look forward to supporting Ainsley’s journey and learning from the insights she uncovers along the way.
For more information on the PhD project objectives, please visit the Blue Economy CRC website.
The Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is established and supported under the Australian Government’s CRC Program, grant number CRC-20180101. The CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. Further information about the CRC Program is available at www.business.gov.au. Echoview Software is one of over 40 partners across 10 countries with expertise in aquaculture, marine renewable energy, maritime engineering, environmental assessments, or policy and regulation.
