Terms of Reference

Regional Advisory Meeting

State of the Ocean - Pacific

 17-18, February 2009

Institute of Ocean Sciences

Sydney, BC

Chairperson: Bill Crawford and Jim Irvine

Background

The state of the oceans reporting in Pacific Region is provided by the Fisheries Oceanography Working Group in DFO’s Pacific Region in conjunction with the regional Centre for Science Advice Office and the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat in Ottawa.

The state of physical, biological, and fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems has seen dramatic changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions in recent years. The state of the marine ecosystem affects resident and migratory marine populations in B.C. Monitoring and reporting on these conditions annually provides a synopsis of their present state and how they are changing, and how these changes might affect commercial and non-commercial living resources in the region.  The influences of ocean conditions are an important component of fishery resource assessment.  There is a growing interest in the state of the oceans advice by DFO Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and OHEB sectors.  There is also growing public interest in the state of the North Pacific Ocean. 

Objectives

A synopsis of the physical and biological state of the ocean off Canada’s Pacific coast will be developed in a workshop setting. Relevant scientific Information will be provided in short (15 minute) presentations followed by a discussion on the implications for state of the ocean’s reporting for Pacific Region in 2008.

Products

CSAS Research Document
CSAS Science Advisory Report

Participants

Participants (approximately 30) include DFO Oceans and Stock Assessment sectors within Science and external participants from academia, the Canadian Wildlife Service, US agencies and, for the first time, participants from the ENGO community.