About us
Seascape Consultants was established in 2010 to provide solutions and high-level advice to the rapidly developing offshore sector including industry, policymakers and regulatory bodies. Our team of scientific specialists provide expertise in the fields of ocean governance, marine biodiversity, spatial management and the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. Legislative advice and programme management is a key part of our portfolio with our senior partners enjoying well-established and productive relationships with stakeholders across the global ocean community.
Prof. David Johnson, Director
David Johnson trained as a physical geographer and completed an MSc in Recreational Land Management (National Parks) in 1982. He spent time as a Royal Navy officer (hydrography, fishery protection), co-ordinated practical conservation work (habitat restoration), and practised as an independent environmental consultant (EIAs, environmental auditing, corporate social reporting). In 1992 he joined Southampton Solent University as a Senior Lecturer in marine resource management, becoming first Head of the Maritime Studies Department and in 2003 Professor of Coastal and Ocean Management. He completed his PhD on the ecosystem goods and services of intertidal wetlands in 1998 and was a short-term Caird Fellow of the UK National Maritime Museum in 2002.
In 2006, David was appointed as Executive Secretary to the OSPAR Commission, the international convention for the environmental protection of the North-East Atlantic. He was intensively involved in the production of the OSPAR Quality Status Report 2010 and subsequent regional implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Amongst other achievements, David coordinated and negotiated legislation for carbon capture and storage in deep sea geological formations (2007), Recommendations for the management of threatened and/or declining deep sea species and habitats (2010/11), and the establishment of the world’s first network of marine protected areas in Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (2010/2012). David has convened Ministerial meetings for both the OSPAR Commission and the Bonn Agreement, moderated sessions for both the United Nations Environment Programme and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and presented at many high-level meetings including the UN Working Group, Preparatory Committee and subsequent Intergovernmental Conferences on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.
David has also successfully concluded and operationalised partnership arrangements between OSPAR and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Seabed Authority. He is currently registered as a GESAMP expert and is a Visiting Professor at the World Maritime University in Sweden. David is the Coordinator for the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI) and led the science-policy interface work in the EU ATLAS project. Most recently, studies have been undertaken for UNEP (Regional Seas Programme and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework), FAO (cross-sector impacts on deep-sea fisheries) and IMO (use of existing measures in support of BBNJ implementation).
Dr Vikki Gunn, Director
Vikki Gunn trained as a geologist and completed her PhD in mining geology and petrology at the University of Southampton in 2002. Shortly afterwards, Vikki took up a position as a Project Manager at the National Oceanography Centre, and now has more than 20 years’ experience in managing EC-funded multidisciplinary marine research, dating back to the EUROSTATAFORM project in Framework Five. She was the Project Manager for the FP6 HERMES project and supervised the project management team for the FP7-funded HERMIONE project, as well as leading the outreach and training activities for HERMIONE. Vikki also has over 4 years’ experience as the senior administrator and divisional manager for the Directorate of Science and Technology at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton (2009-2013). Vikki joined Seascape Consultants in 2013, bringing expertise in project coordination, communication, stakeholder liaison, project planning, reporting and reviews. She managed the EU H2020 MIDAS project on deep-sea mining and currently provides programme management and coordination support for the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI). Vikki led the knowledge sharing activities for the H2020 STEMM-CCS project, coordinated the work on capacity building, policy, stakeholder engagement and outreach in the iAtlantic programme and currently leads similar activities for the EPOC project.
Marketa Zackova, Associate Consultant
Marketa Zackova completed her BA in Political Science and International Relations in 2019 at Concordia University in Montreal and an MSc in Climate Change, Development and Policy at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex in the UK. Shortly afterwards, Marketa joined the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), where she provided programme management support to the marine, coastal and island biodiversity team. Over the years, she has serviced several meetings of the CBD subsidiary bodies and Conferences of the Parties, supporting negotiations on marine issues and organising ocean-related side events and thematic days. Recently, she supported CBD Parties in finalising the new modalities for describing ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) and modifying existing areas. Her work has also focused on advancing the work under the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI), particularly the SOI Global Dialogue with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fishery Bodies, as well as supporting capacity-building workshops and coordinating ocean-related communication and awareness strategies.
After more than 4 years with the CBD marine team, Marketa joined Seascape Consultants Ltd in April 2025. She continues to provide technical support to the CBD Secretariat’s marine team, primarily with respect to the coordination of and engagement in international partnerships and initiatives. Her role includes convening of scientific and technical workshops, supporting the Secretariat’s engagement in various intergovernmental processes, supporting the development of background and technical documents and products under SOI, and managing submissions for the description and modification of EBSAs.
Dr Guillermo Ortuño Crespo, Associate Consultant
Guillermo Ortuño Crespo is a marine scientist and policy expert specializing in international ocean governance, fisheries management, and high seas conservation. He co-leads the IUCN WCPA High Seas Specialist Group and works as a freelance research consultant. Guillermo earned his Ph.D. from Duke University, where his research supported the conservation of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, leading endangered species initiatives for SeaBOS and collaborating with tuna RFMOs to reduce shark bycatch. Guillermo has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and numerous policy briefs for UN processes. He played a key role in establishing the Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) Programme under the UN Decade of Ocean Science. His current focus includes supporting global fisheries governance reform, piloting ecosystem-based management tools, and using spatial management tools to reduce fisheries environmental impacts.
Prof. Phil Weaver, Associate Consultant
Phil Weaver trained as a geologist and completed a PhD in micropalaeontology in 1978. He joined the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences in the UK in 1980 and transferred with them to the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton in 1995. Phil was Director of the NERC Strategic Research Division at NOC from 2006 – 2010, after which he set up Seascape Consultants Ltd. Through most of his career he has been involved in studies of sedimentary processes in the deep ocean, and has conducted many investigations around the world into sediment stability on continental margins, including numerous site and pipeline investigations for the hydrocarbon industry.
Phil was the scientific coordinator of the highly successful FP6 HERMES project (2005-2009) and its FP7 successor, the HERMIONE project (2009-2012). These two projects led him to develop a strong interest in sustainable management of the deep sea, and led to a role coordinating the MIDAS project (2013-2016) that investigated the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining. This programme brought together a group of scientists, legal experts, policy makers and industrial partners to understand the potential scale of the environmental issues, and resulted in a number of recommendations to aid the development of regulations for this new industry. Phil continued his work on deep-sea mining impact studies through the Blue Nodules project and the EIT-funded Blue Harvesting project, and later coordinated an EU-funded initiative working in partnership with the International Seabed Authority to assist them in developing a regional environmental management plan for sulphide mining in the Atlantic. Phil retired from Seascape in December 2021, but remains a close collaborator.