First speakers of WOC summit announced

First key speakers of the 5th edition of the Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS), organized by the World Ocean Council (WOC), to be held in Halifax, Canada, from 29 November to 1 December 2017, were officially announced.

The Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS) is the only international ocean business event to provide a yearly review of status and trends in ocean economic activity.

This year’s summit will be held under the theme “The Ocean Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14): Business Leadership and Business Opportunities”. The international ocean business community will meet to advance leadership and collaboration in developing industry-driven solutions to ocean sustainable development challenges.

The first lineup includes Gary Gysin from Liquid Robotics, Capt Vinay Patwardhan from Tai Chong Cheang (TCC) Steamship Co. (H.K.) Limited, Ian Smith from Clearwater Seafoods, Mike Utsler from Woodside Energy, and Wendy Watson Wright from Ocean Frontier Institute.

Over three days, through plenaries, workshops, and several parallel sessions, SOS 2017 attendees will explore a range of maritime cross-sector topics such as: marine pollution, ocean industry projections and the future of the ocean economy, climate change and ocean acidification, sustainable fishing and aquaculture.

The SOS 2017 theme recognizes:

    The growth of the Ocean Economy and its contribution to the food, energy, transport, communications and other needs of society as part of the U.N. SDG process/Agenda 2030

    The role of the Ocean Business Community over the next 15 years, and beyond, in ensuring ocean sustainable development.