May 2024 Webinar: Ocean Modeling to Support Decision Making
Jointly hosted by the UN Ocean Decade Programs Blue Food Futures, Fisheries Strategies for Changing Oceans and Resilient Ecosystems (FishSCORE), Sustainability, Predictability, and Resilience of Marine Ecosystems (SUPREME), and Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems through Global Knowledge Networks (SmartNet).
This webinar series highlights current efforts and challenges along the spectrum of the climate-fisheries nexus. Presentations and discussions will range from data-driven efforts being undertaken around the world to better understand oceanographic and biological changes affecting fisheries, to how the results can be used to inform fisheries management, aquaculture, and sustainable food decisions, to the many ways people and broader communities are being impacted by and adapting to the way these changes impact marine ecosystems and marine resource use.
Presentation 1: Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP)
The Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP) is a network of more than 100 marine ecosystem modelers and researchers from around the world. The goal of FishMIP is to bring together disparate marine ecosystem models to help better understand and project the long-term impacts of climate change on fisheries and marine ecosystems and to use our findings to help inform policy. FishMIP projects answer questions about the future of fish and fisheries, seafood supply, marine biodiversity, and marine ecosystem functioning.
For more information: https://www.isimip.org/about/marine-ecosystems-fisheries/
Webinar Presenter: Cheryl S. Harrison is a biophysical oceanographer and assistant professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences (joint with the Center for Computation and Technology) at Louisiana State University. She is also an Earth System Model Coordinator for the Fisheries Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP). Her research interests include physical and biogeochemical ocean modeling, applied mathematics, marine ecology, fisheries, climate change, and geoengineering.
Presentation 2: Basin Scale Events to Coastal Impacts (BECI)
The "Basin Scale Events to Coastal Impacts" initiative (BECI) aims to develop an Ocean Intelligence System for the North Pacific Ocean. This system will serve as an information network and decision support tool. Diverse data sets (e.g., climate, oceanographic, ecological) and advanced machine learning techniques will be used to predict the impacts of climate change on migratory fish in the region. The aim is that this information will be used to support forward-looking decision making for fisheries and communities in a changing climate.
For more information: https://beci.info/
Webinar Presenter: Dr. Kathryn Berry joined BECI as its Science Director from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), where she was Head of the Applied Technology section. Before working for the government, Kathryn accumulated eight years of research experience focused on the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems. Kathryn completed a PhD in marine science at James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Australia) and a MSc in Aquatic Ecology at the University of Bremen (Germany) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama).
