Heiko moved to Bodø after completing his Master of Science in Geomatics Engineering at Delft University of Technology. His thesis focused on detecting small water bodies, such as rivers and canals, using space-based LiDAR. The work involved signal processing, machine learning, and very large datasets: about 6 TB in his thesis project. “It’s a lot of data for a thesis project, but I like working with large datasets and sifting through them,” he says. 

The data in this project was for him therefore a major attraction. It is noisy and uncertain, and it comes from several sources: vessel tracking data (AIS), electronic catch reports (ERS), and sales notes. These have not yet been combined into a structured form or used to their full potential. “Putting these sources together makes for a messy data landscape, and there’s a lot of it,” Heiko explains. “That’s exactly what makes it a fun challenge.” 

The project’s societal relevance was another draw. “Sustainable fisheries is something I find highly important,” he says. “It’s about taking care of the marine ecosystem and using ocean resources responsibly.”