The Future of Seabed Mining with Kiwi Surfer & Conservationist Phil McCabe

June 16, 2021

Listen to how the Kiwis slowed seabed mining

On this episode of the American Shoreline Podcast. we go deep, very deep, to the bottom of the sea to discuss the future of seabed with Phil McCabe, an activist on this issue of seabed conservation from New Zealand. For five years, Phil served as the Chairperson of Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM), during which he led a ground-up, cross-sector movement successfully challenging three global precedent-setting seabed mining applications in New Zealand’s courts. We discuss the battles Phil has lead, the specific court cases, as well as the global state of seabed conservation. Phil is currently the Pacific Lead for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.  We discuss  how he works to connect activists across the Pacific region on  deep sea mining issues and the work they do to bring community and stake-holder concerns to the wider public and into decision-making rooms. Come on down and touch the bottom, only on ASPN!

Show Transcription
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Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.