VZCZCXYZ0017
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #9859 0321358
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011345Z FEB 10
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0000
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0000
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0000
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0000
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0000
RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0000
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0000
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0000
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0000
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0000
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0000
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0000
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0000
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0000
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0000
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 0000
RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN 0000
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0000
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 0000
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0000
RUEHVC/AMCONSUL VANCOUVER 0000
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS STATE 009859 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC DA KS PICES SENV TPHY ICES
SUBJECT: ICES ANNUAL MEETING, 21-22, OCTOBER 2009, AND PICES 
ANNUAL MEETING, 21-33 OCTOBER 2009 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: The International Council for the Exploration of the 
Sea (ICES, http://www.ices.int) is the oldest intergovernmental 
organization in the world concerned with marine and fisheries 
science.  ICES is the prime source of advice on the marine 
ecosystem to governments and international regulatory bodies 
that manage the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.  It held 
its 2009 Annual Meeting at the organization's headquarters in 
Copenhagen, Denmark.  Key agenda items that were discussed 
included reporting on strategic and tactical issues within 
Advisory Services; potential integration of socio-economic and 
ecosystem aspects in ICES' advice; a proposal for a new 
Communications Strategy; elections and appointments; ICES and 
MARCOM+; ICES Strategic Plan; finance; and forthcoming Annual 
Science Conference and Council's Statutory Meetings.  The North 
Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES,http://www.pices.int) 
held its 2009 Annual Meeting in Jeju, South Korea.  PICES is an 
intergovernmental scientific organization established to promote 
and coordinate marine research in the North Pacific and adjacent 
seas especially northward of 300N.  Its objectiveis to advance 
scientific knowledge about the ocean environment, global weather 
and climate change, living resources and their ecosystems, and 
the impacts of human activities.  Examples of topics of 
importance discussed at the Governing Council included approval 
of the implementation plan of the new PICES integrative 
scientific program (FUTURE); the Study Group on Human 
Dimensions; PICES Strategic Plan; a report of the Study Group 
on the Restructuring of the PICES Annual Meeting; schedule, 
structure, and financing of future Annual Meetings; report and 
recommendations of the Science Board; and report and 
recommendations of the Finance and Administration Committee. It 
is the goal of both ICES and PICES to increase interaction and 
collaboration amongst their respective administrative bodies 
and scientists in 2010 and beyond.  For example, ICES and PICES, 
in consort with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations (FAO), will be sponsoring a symposium on "Climate 
change effects on fish and fisheries: Forecasting impacts, 
assessing ecosystem responses, and evaluating management 
strategies" (April 25-29, 2010, Sendai, Japan).  END SUMMARY. 
 
ICES 
 
¶2. Overview:  The General Council (Council) of ICES held its 
2009 annual meeting from 21-22 October at ICES Headquarters in 
Copenhagen.  Eighteen of the 20 member states of the Council 
attended the meeting; Lithuania and Russia were absent.  The 
Council is the decision and policy-making body of ICES.  The 
General Council is comprised of two delegates from each member 
country.  Dr. Steve Murawski, Head of Delegation (Director of 
Scientific Programs, NOAA Fisheries Service) and Dr. Edward 
Houde (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory) represented the United States 
(U.S.).  Dr. Stephen DeVincent (State Department, Office of 
Ocean and Polar Affairs) attended the Council Meeting as an 
observer. 
 
¶3. Advisory Services: The Council finalized the establishment 
of ICES Advisory Services in 2008.  Implementation of Advisory 
Services is conducted through the leadership of the Advisory 
Committee (ACOM).  Members of ACOM consist of a scientist from 
each of the member countries, a Chair, and three Vice Chairs. 
Formation of ICES Advisory Services was a direct result of the 
major restructuring of both the scientific and advisory 
capacities of ICES during the previous two years.  Advisory 
Services provides advice to client organizations or institutions 
on marine ecosystem issues, including fisheries management. 
Development and review of the basis for the advice is through 
several steps involving ICES experts. 
 
The ACOM Chair presented the Advice Plan 2009-2011, which is 
designed to address six critical themes, and is associated with 
a high level objective.  The themes are: data (access to more 
and better data); human resources (enhanced capability to 
contribute to advice); integration (integrated advice in 
scientific knowledge and ecosystems); user needs (responsiveness 
to advise users); credibility (of advice); and planning 
(harmonized with human and fiscal resources).  The ACOM Chair's 
overall assessment of Advisory Services was that the transition 
to the new structure and procedures is proceeding reasonably 
well.  The amount of work is increasing, and many challenges lie 
ahead. 
 
Several countries commented that they look to the ACOM meeting 
in December 2009 to address the management of both human and 
financial resources as the new system increases the workload of 
scientists and the organization.  Iceland put on record concerns 
about decision-making in ACOM.  Iceland recommended that advice 
from ICES not be diluted while seeking consensus due to 
disagreementby a single or small group of member countries. 
Iceland encouraged ACOM to make use of voting procedures when 
appropriate.  The President confirmed that it is within the 
mandate of ACOM to use tools that they have at hand, including 
voting procedures, to come to clear decisions. 
 
Norway explained the background of a critical letter from Norway 
regarding ICES advice.  In the letter, Norway commented that on 
some recent occasions ICES chose to use management plans for 
fish stocks developed by the European Union (EU) as basis for 
advice for fish stocks that are jointly managed by Norway and 
the EU.  Norway stated that it cannot accept advice given on the 
basis of one party's (EU's) own management plan.  Norway asked 
that ICES refrain from this practice and base its advice on 
management plans explicitly agreed to by both parties.  The 
Chair of ACOM stated that the comments from Norway will be 
discussed further in the upcoming ACOM workshop, and a reply to 
Norway would be developed. 
 
ACOM is formalizing a portfolio of advisory services that is 
broader than ICES' traditional advice product that focused 
heavily on fisheries.  Important challenges face Advisory 
Service, includingthe workload that is very large and increasing 
in size.  There is limited ability to manage the workload as no 
one has authority over all of the resources needed to produce 
advisory services and no entitypays the true cost of the 
services they request.  The EC, for example, is not receptive 
to ICES'request for the EC to recover overhead costs.  It was 
agreed that ICES, the scientific community, and users of 
advisory services, need to conduct a critical evaluation of 
future needs and resource requirements.  The demand for advice 
on fisheries management continues to dominate advisory services. 
For example, ICES' involvement with the EC's Marine Strategy 
Framework Directive (MSFD) will shape marine environmental 
policy for all industry sectors, including fisheries, for years 
to come. 
 
More than a decade ago, ICES began providing fisheries advice 
based upon a precautionary approach.  ICES extended its 
framework for advice to include precautionary management plans. 
There developed, however, instances in which precautionary plans 
developed for fisheries were not agreed upon by all ICES 
countries, which caused problems for countries in which the 
precautionary approach is not within national policy.  It was 
determined that the degree of precaution is a management 
(i.e. political) decision that ICES should not make 
unilaterally.  The issue will be further discussed at a 
workshop for fisheries advice 1-3 December in Lisbon and ACOM 
the following week. The letter from from Norway to ICES address 
aspects of these issues. 
 
While much of ACOM's efforts have been focused on its current 
workload, ACOM leadership has put effort into strategic 
planning.  In so doing, ACOM, with support from SCICOM, has 
identified two topics that should be priorities for strategic 
initiatives.  The first is scientific support for marine spatial 
planning, which is a vehicle for implementing an ecosystem 
approach and is considered a key process under the MSFD.  The 
second proposed strategic initiative is global review of 
evaluation of fish stock assessment methods.  ICES, however, 
is perceived as lagging behind in incorporating advances in 
stock assessment methodology.  To address the situation, the 
ACOM Chair has initiated discussion about a strategic initiative 
to prepare a global overview of stock assessment models and to 
evaluate their respective strengths and weaknesses. 
 
¶4. Review of the Advisory System:  Council agreed to the 
establishment of a Council Working Group that will conduct a 
Review of the Advisory System.  Terms of reference were adopted 
with amendments.  Two of the objectives include review of 
outcomes of reform relative to objectives expressed in Council 
documents adopted in October 2007 and February 2008, and 
consideration of a relationship between Advisory Services and 
the ICES Science Program, with recommendations to facilitate the 
transition of research to advice.  Frederick Arrhenius, Sweden, 
was appointed Chair of the Working Group.  The President noted 
that the Working Group will report to the Bureau, the ICES 
Executive Committee, by June 2010.  Members of the Bureau are 
comprised of the ICES President, one first Vice President, and 
five Vice Presidents.  The Bureau members are elected from the 
Delegates. 
 
¶5. Integration of Socio-economic and Ecosystem Aspects in 
Advice:  The Chair of ACOM highlighted that many scientists in 
the ICES community embrace the integration of socio-economic 
and ecosystem aspects in advice and in ICES activities in 
general.  There was significant discussion within Council on a 
proposal for a Council working group on economics and social 
sciences in ICES.  It was expressed that managers and policy 
makers want economic and social impact assessments in addition 
to advice on fisheries and ecosystems.  Norway, Poland, and 
Iceland did not support formation of a working group that 
incorporated socio-economic and ecosystem aspects into ICES 
advice.  Norway commented that it would politicize ICES; it was 
Norway's view that such integration is needed in science, but 
not in advice.  Denmark remarked that it should be in both 
places.  Finland, Estonia, Ireland, UK, USA, and Canada 
supported the proposal that these aspects should be under ACOM. 
With revised Terms of Reference, Council adopted the Council 
Working Group on Integration of Socio-economic and Ecosystem 
Aspects in Advice.  The terms of reference include (but are not 
limited to) review of current uses of ICES advice in current 
socio-economic assessments; identify research areas that would 
benefit from an integrated approach (i.e. development of bio- 
economic models); and propose a policy and method, if 
appropriate, on economics and social sciences in ICES advisory 
services.  Martin Scholten, the Netherlands, was appointed Chair 
of the Council Working Group. 
 
¶6. Report from the Scientific Committee (SCICOM) Chair: The 
Scientific Committee oversees all aspects of ICES' scientific 
work.  SCICOM met on three occasions in 2009.  At the Council 
Meeting, the Chair of SCICOM presented the 2009-2013 Science 
Plan, approved by Council in October 2008, and its 
implementation.  Sixty-nine Science Expert Groups are involved 
in planning and coordinating scientific efforts in support of 
the Science Plan.  Within the new science structure and 
responsibilities, in May 2009, SCICOM considered the report of 
its Working Group on Science leadership and decided to implement 
a Science Steering Group (SSG) structure based upon three 
Science Themes (Ecosystem Functions; Human Interactions on 
Ecosystems; and Sustainable Use of Ecosystems) and two 
Integrated Programs (Regional Sea Programs and Ecosystem 
Surveys, Science, and Technologies).  Tom Noji (U. S.) had been 
appointed as a Steering Group Chair for SSG Human Interactions 
on Ecosystems from May 2009 through September 2009.  Bill Karp 
(U.S.) was appointed as a Chair of SSG Ecosystem Surveys and 
Technologies from May 2009 through December 2011. 
 
The SCICOM Chair announced that SCICOM had decided to move 
forward with the implementation of three strategic initiatives, 
which include climate change (~ 150-200 page SCICOM report is 
due to be released in June 2010); biodiversity (incorporating 
biodiversity issues into a general toolbox of ICES science and 
advisory services); and coastal zones and marine spatial 
planning (a cross-cutting theme that is central to development 
of ICES' science and is a joint SCICOM-ACOM initiative).  In 
conjunction with these initiatives, the focus of the ICES Annual 
Scientific Conference (ASC) in 2010 will be on coastal zones and 
MSP, and on marine biodiversity at ASC 2011.  There was strong 
sentiment shared among the Council members for the linkage of 
the three initiatives and for coordination with other 
organizations involved in these issues. 
 
¶7. Communication Strategy: One of the goals of the 2008 ICES 
Strategic Plan was to build increased understanding of ICES 
scienceand marine issues through a program of communication 
within ICES and the public arena.  It was determined that 
meeting the goal would necessitate a coherent program of 
communication that would include the fullrange of ICES 
publications and use of the media.  The President informed 
Council that ICES presently has a well-functioning Publications 
Group and previously had an oversight committee (PUB).  He said 
that responsibility, however, for the area of communications is 
diffuse and lacks coordination.  He expressed that a clearly 
defined and coherent communications strategy must be developed 
and implemented if ICES is to be an international leader in the 
dissemination of information focusing on marine science.  At 
Council, therefore, a proposal was presented that outlined 
guiding principles for an ICES Communication Strategy, which 
would involve development of a multi-faceted Communications 
Group within the Secretariat and an ICES Publications and 
Communications Group (PUBCOM) with the responsibility for 
addressing and responding to the needs of both SCICOM and ACOM 
in matters pertaining to publication and communication. 
 
Prior to the Council Meeting, however, the Bureau had concluded 
the proposed Communication Strategy remains a work in progress, 
and that it should be further developed by the Secretariat 
before adoption.  The strategy represents a substantial 
expansion of activities and the Secretariat was not prepared to 
accept all recommendations for expansion that included new 
positions, new activities, and responsibilities for the 
Communications group. The SCICOM Chair noted that the 
involvement of the scientific community is sought within the 
Strategy and informed Council that the General Secretary has 
been asked to develop the administrative framework for the 
Strategy, including creating a Secretariat Working Group. 
The United States stated its support of the Communications 
Strategy, but it would like more focus on stakeholders within 
the community and less on public outreach.  Council took note 
of the Strategy and noted the progress made.  Council mandated 
that ACOM, SCICOM, and the Secretariat to prepare a revised 
version of the Strategy. 
 
¶8. ICES and MARCOM+:  The Head of Science presented progress 
on ICES' involvement in the MARCOM+ consortium, formerly 
referred to as the "Network of Networks."  ICES provides 
Secretariat support for coordination of the MARCOM+ project, 
for which the goal is to establish a sustainable and long-term 
partnership forum, European Marine and Maritime Science and 
Technology Forum (EMMSTF), which will supersede MARCOM+ as of 
January 2012.  The Head of Science informed the Council that the 
aim is to have ICES continue as a leader in the coordination 
process and actively develop the profile of ICES as a network 
for marine science beyond fisheries and beyond the borders of 
Europe.  He recommended that ICES continue to take a more 
proactive role in fostering such coordination processes and for 
the Council to approve additional funding for the project. 
Discussion within the Council in relation to MARCOM, a European- 
centered project,  focused on the need of ICES to take actions 
to further establish its profile within the European scientific 
community as well develop a strategy beyond the EU.  The Council 
took note of thepositive development of the MARCOM+ project and 
requested that SCICOM further develop ICES' international 
scientific cooperation initiatives. 
 
¶9. Capacity-Building: The SCICOM Chair provided an overview of 
capacity-building activities of ICES.  One key aspect of such 
efforts is its training program that is meant to build capacity 
in ICES and especially support scientist involved in the 
advisory process.  The Head of Science leads this effort within 
the Secretariat, with SCICOM as its driving force.  ICES has 
five courses in place or under development, the first of which 
were offered in 2009.  These include:  stock assessment 
(introduction); stock assessment (advanced); Bayesian technique 
for stock assessment; Management Strategy Evaluation; and 
Ecosystem Modeling for Fisheries Management.  The U.S. is 
significantly involved in these courses, mostly on advanced 
stock assessment methodology to date.  Three more courses under 
consideration are: survey design and technical methods; advice 
context, chairing, communication, and outreach; and 
statistics relevant to fisheries and ecosystem research.  Seven 
to 10 courses will be within the program over the next several 
years. 
 
¶10. Elections and Appointments:  Following statutory procedures, 
the following Bureau members were elected for the period 1 
November 2009 to 31 October 2012.  Mike Sinclair (Canada) was 
elected President for a three-year term; Paul Connolly (Ireland) 
was elected First Vice President for a three-year term; Steve 
Murawski (U.S.), Eero Aro (Finland), and Robin Cook (United 
Kingdom) were elected to the Bureau for the next three years. 
The following appointments were made:  Steve Murawski (U.S.) and 
Carmella Porteiro (Spain) were appointed as new members to the 
Finance Committee for the next three years; Council appointed 
Eugene Nixon (Ireland) to a three-year term, and Mark Tasker 
(UK) to a one-year term as ACOM Vice Chairs; and Council 
appointed Manuel Barange (UK) as Chair of SCICOM for a term of 
three years; Ed Houde (U.S.) was re-appointed as Chair of the 
Awards Committee, and Fredrik Arrhenius (Sweden) appointed as a 
member of the Awards Committee. 
 
¶11. Governance: Sylvain Paradis has replaced Serge Labonti as a 
Delegate of Canada.  Juha-Markku Leppanen has replaced Matti 
Perttila, and Eero Aro has replaced Petri Suuronen, as Delegates 
of Finland.  Alicia Lavmn has replaced Luis Valdis as Delegate 
of Spain. 
 
¶12. Collaboration:  The Council has continued its active 
cooperation with other international organizations, including 
those to which it provides scientific information and advice in 
the areas of fisheries management (NSACO, NEAFC, and the 
European Commission) and marine environmental protection 
(HELCOM, OSPAR, and EC DG-Environment).  Cooperation with PICES 
has continued in various areas; including the formation of a 
joint Working Group on Forecasting climate change Impacts on 
Fish and Shellfish (WGFCCIFS), and the co-sponsorship of four 
symposia in 2009. 
 
¶13. Future Meetings:  Council accepted the invitation from 
France for the Annual Scientific Conference (ASC) to take place 
in Nantes, France from 20-24 September 2010, and from Poland to 
host the 2011 ASC in Gdansk, 19-23 September.  Dr. Jane 
Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 
and NOAA Administrator, has agreed to give the Keynote Address 
at ASC 2010 in Nantes.  Council agreed that the dates of the 
next statutory meeting of the Council will take place October 
27-28, 2010. 
 
¶14. Budget:  The Chair of the Finance Committee reported that 
final accounts for 2008 show a positive result of approximately 
3.8 million DKK.  The Finance Committee is comprised of the 
Delegates from Denmark and four other Delegates appointed by the 
Council for a period of three years.  The United States and 15 
other nations paid in full their national contributions for FY 
¶2009.  Lithuania has paid part of its 2009 payment of national 
contributions to ICES.  Belgium still has not paid the 
outstanding part of the 2006 contribution, and it was 
recommended that the general Secretary and president follow up 
on this item.  In September 2009, it was projected that there 
would be a probable surplus of up to 3.3 million DKK due to 
closing of projects, savings in advisory travel and meetings, 
and staff salaries covered by ongoing external projects. 
 
The budget for FY2010 was approved by Council in October 2008 
with national contributions set as DKK 402,000 per share.  The 
amount of national contributions for 2010 remains unchanged from 
2009, with the cost of the United States' share for FY2010 of 
DKK 1,206,000.  Council adopted the revised proposed budget for 
FY2010 with the required two-thirds majority (18 votes "yes", 
with Russia and Lithuania not represented.) 
 
The Finance Committee supported a 2% inflation increase for FY 
2011 budget.  On a roll call vote, the 2% increase in national 
contributions was approved with one share equal to 410,000 DKK 
(resulting in a 1,230,000 DKK payment from the United States for 
FY 2011).  There was a projected mismatch between an estimated 
3.8% increase in spending and the proposed 2% increase in the 
income in the FY 2011 budget.  Council agreed that 3.3 million 
DKK of the 2008 surplus would be used to balance the FY 2011 
budget and the remaining 500,000 DKK surplus will be added to 
the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF).  Council adopted the 
forecasted budget for FY2011 with two-thirds majority (16 votes 
"yes," 2 opposed, and 2 absent).  Latvia did not support any 
increase for 2011, and Iceland abstained from voting, due to 
the economic situation in their respective countries. 
 
¶15. Strategic Investment Fund: New proposals for use of the SIF 
were developed separately by ACOM and SCICOM during their 
respective meetings in September.  Council supported the 
priorities proposed by SCICOM, but noted lack of development, 
communication, and alignment with ACOM.  The President advised 
that joint proposals be submitted to the Bureau under the 
topics of biodiversity, and coastal zone and marine spatial 
planning.  The Council agreed to send the new additional 
proposals back to ACOM and SCICOM to come up with a joint 
proposal for use of the Strategic investment Fund up to DKKK 
2.3 million. 
 
PICES 
 
¶16. Overview:  The North Pacific Marine Science Organization 
(PICES) held its 18th Annual Meeting (23 -30 October, 2009) and 
Governing Council Meeting (31 October-1 November, 2009) in Jeju, 
Republic of Korea. The theme of the Annual Meeting was focused 
on understanding ecosystem dynamics and pursuing ecosystem 
approaches to management.  All Contracting Parties (Canada, 
Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea,Russian 
Federation, and the United States) were present at the Governing 
Council meeting.  The U.S. delegation was led by appointed 
commissioners Dr. Samuel Pooley (NOAA/NMFS) and Dr. George 
Boehlert (Oregon StateUniversity). Dr. Stephen DeVincent 
(DOS/OES/OPA) served the delegation as an advisor.  Ms. Patricia 
Livingston (NOAA) served as Chair of the Finance & 
Administration Committee, completing her first of two years in 
the position.  Dr. John Stein (NOAA/NMFS) served as Chair of 
the Science Board, and will continue in that role until the end 
of the Annual Meeting in 2010. 
 
¶17. Annual Meeting (AM):  Professor Kuh Kim (Republic of Korea), 
an internationally distinguished physical oceanographer, 
received the 2009 Wooster Award at the Opening Session of the 
AM.  The keynote lecture, given by Chang Ik Zhang, Pukyong 
National University, was on Ecosystem-based fisheries 
assessments and management: A step towards FUTURE 
Implementation of ecosystem approaches to management.  There 
were 487 registrants for the Annual Meeting of which 90 were 
from the United States. 
 
¶18. Implementation of FUTURE: PICES Integrative Scientific 
Program:  "Forecasting and Understanding Trends, Uncertainly, 
and Responses of the North Pacific Marine Ecosystems (FUTURE) 
will be one of the highest priority activities of PICES over the 
next decade.  The concept of FUTURE is: "To understand and 
forecast responses of North Pacific marine ecosystems to climate 
change and human activities at basic and regional scales, and to 
broadly communicate this scientific information to members, 
governments, resource managers, stakeholders, and the public." 
The basic principles of the program were finalized in 2008 and 
the FUTURE Implementation Plan was finalized in June 2009. 
Following the adoption of the Implementation Plan, three 
advisory panels, Anthropogenic Influences on Coastal Ecosystems 
(AICE), Climate, Oceanographic Variability and Ecosystems (COVE) 
and Status, Outlooks, Forecasts and Engagement (SOFE) were 
established to provide continuing direction, leadership, 
coordination, and synthesis within PICES toward attaining the 
goal of FUTURE.  Work of all three Advisory Panels (AICE, COVE, 
and SOFE) will address the understanding needed to answer what 
determines an ecosystem's intrinsic resilience and vulnerability 
to natural and anthropogenic forcing.  COVE will focus on the 
response of ecosystems to natural and anthropogenic forcing, and 
how might they change in the future.  AICE will also address how 
human activities affect coastal ecosystems and how societies are 
affected by changes in these ecosystems.  The Advisory Panels 
met for the first time, concurrently and then jointly, during 
the week in Jeju.  Science Board, which serves as the Scientific 
Committee for FUTURE, will consider the outcomes of the 
meetings.  The Council approved proposed changes in the PICES 
Rules of Procedure to incorporate FUTURE into the organizational 
structure of PICES. 
 
¶19. PICES Strategic Plan:  The PICES Strategic Plan was approved 
by Council in 2004.  The launching of FUTURE and other 
developments within the organization has demonstrated the 
potential need for updates to the Plan.  At PICES 2009, the 
Council approved the establishment of a Study Group on Updating 
the PICES Strategic Plan, under direction of the Council.  The 
Study Group will review the PICES Strategic Plan, the FUTURE 
Implementation Plan, and current Action Plans off PICES Standing 
Committees; the strategic plans of other relevant organizations, 
such as ICES; consider the views of Contracting Parties on 
priorities for marine research in the North Pacific Ocean over 
the next 5-10 years; and propose revisions to the PICES Strategy 
Plan, if necessary, in time for consideration by Council at the 
PICES 2010 meeting.  The Study Group will be led by the Chairman 
of PICES, Dr. Tokio Wada).  Dr. John Stein (NOAA), as Science 
Board Chairman, is a member of the Study Group.  It will propose 
revisions to the PICES Strategic Plan, if necessary, in time for 
consideration by Council at PICES-2010. 
 
¶20. Study Group on Human Dimensions (SG-HD):  The implementation 
plan for FUTURE calls for PICES scientists to make societal 
implications of their science more explicit and accessible 
through long-term engagement and communication among scientists, 
decision-makers, stakeholders, and across sectors.  At the 2009 
inter-sessional meeting (April 29, Qingdao, PR China), Governing 
Council approved in principle the establishment of a Study Group 
on Human Dimensions (SG-HD),  subject to revisions of the 
proposed Terms of Reference.  In Qingdao, Council endorsed Dr. 
Mitsutaku Makino (Japan) as the interim SG-HD Chairman, and at 
PICES-2009, Council received a presentation by Dr. Makino and 
approved the establishment of the Study Group.  In order to 
fully utilize the one-year time frame of the Study Group, the 
main focus will be on ecosystem-based fisheries management 
(EBFM).  As stated in the revised Terms of Reference, the Study 
Group intends to: review how social science has been 
used/applied globally and regionally in EBFM and the theoretical 
basis for these practices;  review the social scientific tools 
and information available for EBFM in PICES member countries; 
develop an inventory of practices for use of social economic 
information appropriate to the circumstances in each PICES 
member country; and prepare a final report on activities and 
findings of the group and make recommendations on the 
desirability of establishing an expert group related to the 
socio-economic sciences within PICES and the role of such a 
group.  The Study Group will work under the direction of Science 
Board.  Council is now accepting nominations for two experts 
from each Contracting Party to serve as members of the Study 
Group.  SG-HD will prepare a final report by December 2010. 
 
¶21. Annual Contributions:  All Contracting parties met their 
financial obligations for FY 2009.Fund-raising continues to be 
an important component of PICES activities as current funding 
constraints - from an increase in annual contributions only at 
the rate of inflation in Canada - have recently impeded 
improvements in and expansion of PICES.  The level of external 
funding has increased significantly over the last several years, 
and a substantial part of the current operational budget is now 
supported by voluntary contributions, grants, and partnerships 
(30-80% of the total contributions from PICES member states for 
the period from 2004-2009).  In the Finance and Administration 
meeting, the Executive Secretary noted that although funding for 
the North Pacific Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Program has 
improved over the last two years, there remains a shortfall in 
meeting the target funding level of $250,000 for the project. 
The Council directed the Executive Secretary to write letters 
soliciting new members for the North Pacific CPR Consortium. 
 
¶22. Financing of High Priority Projects:  Two high-priority 
projects for PICES are development of FUTURE and preparation for 
the next North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report (NPESR). 
In 2008, funding became available for high-priority PICES 
projects through the use of encumbered funds.  Given current 
plans, the NPESR appears to have sufficient financial support. 
The balance of earmarked funds for the development of FUTURE, 
however, is small ($18,872).  Council accepted the 
recommendation to direct the Executive Secretary to send a 
letter to the Contracting Parties that contains information on 
planned FUTURE activities and to make contributions to these 
activities. 
 
¶23. PICES Intern Program:  The Executive Secretary informed the 
Council that Ms. Tatiana Semenova (Pacific Research Fisheries 
Center, Russia) was selected as the 2010/2011 PICES intern.  It 
was estimated that at the end of FY 2009, PICES will be holding 
about CAD$10,000 for the Intern Program.  With the current 
stipend level of CAD$2,000 per month, the amount would be 
insufficient to maintain the Program for only five months in 
¶2010.  In a response to requesting voluntary contributions, the 
United States, Canada, and Korea committed to contribute 
US$15,000, CAD$10,000, and US$10,000 respectively, to the Trust 
Fund for the Intern Program.  The contributions will be 
sufficient to maintain the Intern Program for a full year 
without using registration fee revenue. 
 
¶24. Registration Fees:  At PICES-2001, Council approved the 
charging of a registration fee for future Annual Meetings and 
that the fee structure should be reviewed on an annual basis. 
It was agreed that the registration fees would be used to 
support high priority projects and the Intern Program, and to 
cover costs of the Annual Meeting.  In Jeju, the Finance and 
Administration Committee reviewed the current registration fee 
structure and has been unchanged since 2004 and recommended 
that Council approve the $50 increase in the Regular and early 
registration categories but no increase in the Student and 
Spousal categories.  Council approved of the increases, and the 
2010 registration fees (CAD$) are Regular ($275), Early ($200), 
Student ($50), and Spousal ($50). 
 
¶25. Budget for FY 2010 and Forecast Budget for FY 2011:  In 
FY2009, the estimated total income is $577,400.  The amount 
includes $388,999 in voluntary contributions and grants 
($351,499 credited to the Working Capital Fund (WCF) and 
$37,500 credited to the Trust Fund).  The Council was informed 
of the 75% reduction in the amount of interest earned in 2009, 
which is approximately $18,000 less than in FY 2008. 
 
The Committee reviewed the proposed FY 2010 budget of $797,000 
and recommended its approval by Council.  A 1.5% increase in the 
annual fees in 2010 had been proposed in order to compensate for 
the mandatory salary increases within the Secretariat that were 
projected to occur in FY2010.  There was no consensus among 
Committee members to recommend approval of the proposed annual 
dues increase because it was not consistent with the guideline 
accepted at PICES-1999 stating that "the annual contribution 
will increase at the rate of inflation in Canada."  The rate 
of inflation in Canada has been close to 0%. 
 
The Committee had the option of reducing the budget or making 
a transfer from the WCF to balance the budget.  It recommended 
the transfer of $110,000 from the Working Capital Fund, setting 
the total annual contribution at $687,000 and the 2010 fees at 
$114,500 per Contracting Party.  These were unchanged from FY 
2009 levels. 
 
Council approved the forecast FY2011 budget of $814,000 (based 
upon information as of September 1, 2009), which is 2.13% higher 
than the FY 2010 budget. 
 
¶26.  Report of the Study Group on Restructuring of the PICES 
Annual Meeting:  With the expansion of PICESactivities, its 
Annual Meeting, which includes the science conference, 
scientific and administrative committees,and the Governing 
Council meeting, has expanded in scale and duration.  Since 
2000, the Meeting runs for 10 days (7 days for the regular 
meeting and 3 days for preliminary activities). Inter-sessional 
activities, such as symposia and workshops co-sponsored with 
other organizations such as ICES and FAO have also increased. 
The growth has placed additional demands on the Contracting 
Parties to support travel for scientists and on the Secretariat 
to arrange events.  Since there are some limitations as to the 
number of scientists who can participate in PICES activities and 
in financial support from the Contracting Parties, there was the 
need to review PICES' current activities and consider cost- 
saving measures for sustaining PICES activities.  In 2008, 
therefore, Council established a Study Group to formally address 
the issue. 
 
Recommendations from the Study Group were presented at this 
year's Council meeting.  They included, but are notlimited to, 
increasing the number of concurrent scientific sessions from 
three per day to four per day and holding the Closing Session 
half a day earlier than is the current practice.  This reduction 
of half a day would allow for expanding the duration of the 
Science Board from 1 to 1.5 days to accommodate its new role as 
responsible for FUTURE.  The Study Group also recommended 
holding overture meetings of Scientific/Technical Committees to 
examine and confirm points of discussion in preparation for 
their official meetings at the Annual Meeting and that PICES 
develop a long-term strategy to accommodate the growing 
financial and logistical demands on the organization.  The 
strategy will require maintaining constant communication among 
the Council, Science Board, and Finance and Administration 
members on interests and financial situations within each 
Contracting Party. 
 
Other recommendations for restructuring the Annual Meeting 
included Science Board utilizing the Inter-sessional Meeting for 
strategic planning, as well as Science Board and 
Scientific/Technical Committees exploring the possibility of 
holding an inter-sessional video conference among the member 
countries, especially for PICES expert groups.  This latter 
approach could enable cost savings and both recommendations 
would also serve to provide for more focused discussions at 
the Annual Meeting. 
 
¶27. Inter-sessional Meeting (ISB):  Science Board had already 
indicated the importance of having an inter-sessional meeting in 
2010, to be held in conjunction with the PICES/ICES/FAO 
symposium on "Climate change effects on fish and fisheries: 
Forecasting impacts, assessing ecosystem responses, and 
evaluation management strategies" to be convened April 26-29, 
2020, in Sendai, Japan.  Council approved of the 2-day inter- 
sessional Science Board meeting to be held immediately prior to 
the symposium.  Japan indicated that it is prepared to host the 
ISB-2010, and Korea noted that it will investigate the 
possibility of hosting a FUTURE program inter-sessional meeting 
in 2010 or 2011.  The Governing Council does not plan to meet 
inter-sessionally. 
 
It is typical that the Contracting Party that hosts the Annual 
Meeting also hosts the next inter-sessional meeting.  In this 
scenario, Korea would host both PICES-2009 and ISB-2010. 
However, because of the large number of members of the Science 
Board who are expected to attend the PICES/ICES/FAO symposium in 
Sendai, Council agreed that the ISB-2010 should be held in 
conjunction with the symposium.  Korea had allocated US$100,000 
to host the ISB-2010.  Korea, however, will attempt to 
reallocate the previously designated funds to support the FUTURE 
program, potentially hosting a FUTURE event (e.g., a special 
symposium or Advisory Panel Meeting). 
 
¶28.  Future Annual Meetings:  PICES 2010 will be held from 
October 22-31, in Portland, Oregon.  The U.S. delegation 
confirmed that it will not require any funds from the 
organization to help offset costs of the meeting.  NOAA has 
contributed approximately $200k for hosting the 2010 Annual 
Meeting in the form of a grant to the Pacific States Marine 
Fisheries Commission to act as meeting organizer and DOS/OES 
has contributed US$51,000 directly to PICES.  However it is 
anticipated that an additional $50,000-100,000 would be required 
to host the meeting which would be in line with DOS/OES funding 
for previous Annual Meetings held in the United States (e.g., 
Honolulu in 2004).  The budget will be finalized once the PICES 
Secretariat visits Portland early in 2010. 
 
The theme for the 2010 Annual Meeting will be "North Pacific 
Ecosystems Today, and Challenges in Understanding and 
Forecasting Change."  PICES 2020 will focus on major issues 
that are affecting North Pacific marine ecosystems, including 
but not limited to: changes in cycling of carbon and other 
elements, increasing ocean acidification, chemical pollution, 
shifts in species interactions, sea level rise, and coastal 
erosion.  Ideally, the contribution of climate change to these 
ecosystems can be separately quantified so that knowledge and 
information from this symposium will contribute to the next 
report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
scheduled for 2013. 
 
The Russian Federation presented status of planning for PICES- 
¶2011.  Khabarovsk is the site currently under consideration, 
which the Executive Secretary will visit in the spring of 2010. 
Some logistical issues were discussed relating to multiple 
venues, poster session matters and the visa application process. 
The Committee recommended that consideration be given to holding 
the meeting from October 14-22, 2011, which would return to a 
more traditional time in October for the annual meeting.  The 
proposed theme of PICES 2011 is "Mechanisms of Marine Ecosystem 
Reorganization in the North Pacific.  The Committee recommended 
that, in keeping with the 6-year rotation cycle, Council invite 
Japan to explore the possibility of hosting PICES-2012, and 
inform the Secretariat by March 2010. 
CLINTON