Trygve Heide | July 7th, 2025 | Stories

SeaBee has recently completed its “SeaBee Impact Report,” showcasing five years of advancements in drone-based coastal research and environmental monitoring across Norway. Authored by Maria Dalby, Sabrina Heerema, Charlotte Synnøve Garmann-Johnsen, alongside contributing authors Kasper Hancke, Hege Gundersen, Kristina Øie Kvile, Sindre Molværsmyr, and James Edward Sample, the report documents the significant impacts and achievements of the SeaBee infrastructure from 2020 to 2025.

The report highlights SeaBee’s role in establishing a national center for drone-based services, significantly enhancing the precision, efficiency, and scope of ecological mapping, species monitoring, and habitat assessments along Norway’s extensive coastline. Through more than 300 field campaigns and 1,484 drone missions, SeaBee has gathered over 100,000 images, mapping seabird populations, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and marine mammal habitats with unprecedented resolution and minimal environmental disturbance.

The SeaBee infrastructure has fostered extensive national and international collaborations, driving progress in machine learning applications for automated data analysis, ecological research, and sustainable coastal management. This report highlights SeaBee’s transformative impact on marine science, conservation strategies, and climate-related research. The full “SeaBee Impact Report” is freely accessible below.

Dalby et al 2025 SeaBee Impact Report