John McCarthy is Managing Director of Mapping & Hydrographic Surveys Pty Ltd with field operations including Hydrographic and Geophysical survey investigations for Port and Harbour development, Nearshore and Offshore surveys throughout Australia, PNG, SE Asia, The Middle East and The Pacific. Major projects include development investigation surveys for Greenfield Port Sites and Major Existing Ports, Submarine Pipelines and Cables. Services include Bathymetry, Side Scan Sonar, Marine Geophysicics, Tidal & Current studies. He maintains a keen interest in the welfare of his fellow professional hydrographers and was instrumental in the formation and development of the Australian Hydrographic Surveyors Accreditation Panel (AHSAP) of the Institution of Surveyors Australia from 1988 to 1994 and has served continually as a panel member from the inaugural 1994 Meeting of the AHSCP through the years and changes in identity to the present Australasian Hydrographic Surveyors Certification Panel (AHSCP) of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors. John McCarthy was forward in encouraging the AHSCP to seek International recognition for it’s work in accrediting individuals to IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) Category A and Category B standards and personally presented the AHSCP submission to the FIG/IHO/Advisory Board meeting in Goa, India in April 2006. This submission has instigated a ‘work in progress’ for the IHO and Mr McCarthy looks forward to a successful outcome in the near future that will provide Hydrographic Surveyors certified by the AHSCP international recognition and international portability in their employment. John McCarthy is Australian Delegate to the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Commission 4 – Hydrography and attends FIG International conferences and working weeks in support of the AHSCP submission for International recognition of the work carried out by the AHSCP.