MidSEC

MidSEC Conference 2026
Bäckaskog Castle, Sweden

SATURDAY, 13 JUNE – FRIDAY, 19 JUNE

What was the MidSEC Conference?

The 2026 MidSEC Conference was the inaugural in-person meeting of the community.

MidSEC was founded in 2025 at the University of Western Australia with funding generously provided by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Ocean Shot Research Grant Program. Our objective is to bring together the midwater research and engineering community in order to increase collaboration, data sharing, impact of everyone’s work on our understanding of the largest habitat on earth and on policy, conservation and public education of the midwater.

MidSEC’s inaugural conference was conceived as a small, in-person conference designed to bring together researchers, engineers, policy makers, data managers, science communicators and conservationists working on the midwater. Our objective was to foster discussion, collaboration and strategic planning to advance midwater work and conservation. Presentations, tech showcases, and discussion sessions provided ample starting points for conversations, while the all-inclusive venue, Bäckaskog Castle, naturally provided ample opportunities to talk with colleagues outside sessions and to enjoy the natural beauty of the surrounding area together.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended and helped to make the conference a success! Thank you all for your time and contributions, we hope to see you again, as well as those who couldn't make it, at the next one.

Advisory Panel

Kelly Benoit-Bird, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

John Burns, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Sonke Johnsen, Duke University

Heather Judkins, University of South Florida St. Petersburg

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