How a smart map could reel in the outlaws of the ocean

VPM | By Manoush Zomorodi, Andrea Gutierrez and Sanaz Meshkinpour

Published June 30, 2023 at 1:33 PM EDT

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Audacious Solutions.

To stop pirate fishing, oil spills, and more, we need to monitor the ocean. Tony Long aims to do just that by creating a live map of all human activity on the seas.

About Tony Long

Tony Long is the CEO of Global Fishing Watch. He leads a global team of policy experts, fisheries analysts, data scientists and engineers using cutting-edge technology to visualize, track and share data on global fishing activity. Their goal is to transform ocean governance by publicly revealing the full extent of humanity’s impact on life in the ocean. Long was an officer in the Royal British Navy for 27 years, where he commanded the HMS Blyth and HMS Monmouth. When he left the Navy, he spent five years at Pew Charitable Trusts, where he played a key role in developing the satellite monitoring initiative Project Eyes on the Seas. He received a master’s degree in defense studies from King’s College in London.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Andrea Gutierrez and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

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Manoush Zomorodi

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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