# Presentation: 100782

## Sea Grant Regional Research PlanningGulf of Maine Regional Ocean Science Planto Support Ecosystem-Based Management

**Sea Grant Regional Research Planning****Gulf of Maine Regional Ocean Science Plan****to Support Ecosystem-Based Management**

**Jonathan Pennock, Director**
**New Hampshire Sea Grant College Program**

## Background

**Gulf of Maine Project led by MIT Sea Grant (Chrys Chryssostomidis & Judy Peterson) with MESG, NHSG, WHSG, RISG, CTSG & NYSG (Directors)**
**Planning being carried out in a region in which numerous research plans have previously been developed through NOPP, Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, Northeast Regional Ocean Council (Governor’s & Canadian Premiers), etc...**
**Committed to working with Canada and also Northeast Shallow Seas (south of Cape Cod)**

## Background

**Actions/Activities:**
**  ****Create Regional Ocean Science Council (ROSC)**
**  ****Gather Information on Previous/Ongoing Efforts**
**  ****Develop Web Site**
**  ****Facilitate Stakeholder Meetings**
**  ****Integrate with Ongoing Efforts in Issue Prioritization**
**  ****Support Workshops Addressing Specific Priority Areas**
**  ****Develop ‘Living Research Plan’**
**  ****Establish Niche for Sea Grant**
**  ****Develop Funding Mechanisms**
**   ****Facilitate Outreach/Education**
**   ****Link to Researchers**

## Status

_**Create Regional Ocean Sciences Council**_
**  ****Advisory Board for Gulf of Maine Effort**
**  ****Members Include**
**  ****John Annala (GMRI)**
**  ****Bruce Carlisle (Massachusetts CZM Program)**
**  ****Ames Colt (RI Governor’s Office)**
**  ****Ron O’Dor (Dalhousie University & Census of Marine Life)**
**  ****Robert Pomeroy (UCONN)**
**  ****Bill Schwab (USGS – Woods Hole)**
**  ****Mike Sinclair (DFO – Canada)**
**  ****Nancy Thompson (NOAA-NMFS – NFSC)**
**  ****Ed Tiffany (CambridgeSoft Corporation)**
**  ****7 Regional Sea Grant Directors**

## Status

_**Gather Information on Previous/Ongoing Efforts**_
**  ****13 Major Regional Organizations & State Agencies**
**  ****>20 Universities & Research Centers**
**  ****>70 State, Federal & Provincial Organizations**
**  ****12 Online Databases**
**  ****10 Regional Meetings/Plans**

## Status

_**Develop Web Site**_

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## Status

_**Facilitate Stakeholder Meetings & Integrate with Ongoing Efforts in Issue Prioritization**_
**Initial stakeholder meetings carried out through Sea Grant PACs with additional invited attendees from federal, state and university partners**
**Included NOAA Representatives (e.g. Beth Turner, David Kaiser, Betsy Nicholson; NERRS; CZM; etc...)**
**COMPASS **[Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea]
**Massachusetts Ocean Partnership Fund**
**Northeast Regional Ocean Council**

## Status

_**Priorities Developed from Stakeholder & ROSC Meetings**_
**Research should...**
**Be important to stakeholders**
**Address significant threats to region**
**Be fundable**
**Address regional problems for Gulf of Maine ecosystem**
**Reflect Ecosystem-Based (Approach To) Management**
**Encourage coordination & collaboration**
**Have an adaptive management component**
**Have measurable outcomes**
**Achieve measurable outcomes with a few years**

## Status

_**Priorities Developed from Stakeholder & ROSC Meetings**_
**    ****[Efforts made to link to JSOST, ORPP & NOAA Strategic Plan]**
**Thematic Priority Areas...**
**  ****Effects of Climate Change**
**  ****Conservation & Sustainability**
**  ****Oceans & Human Health**
**  ****Management & Governance**
**Focused Opportunities**
**  ****Use of New Technologies**
**  ****Modeling Ecosystem Impacts**
**  ****Address Issues of Scale**

## Next Steps

**  ****Support Workshops Addressing Specific Priority Areas**
**  ****Develop ‘Living Research Plan’**
**  ****Establish Niche for Sea Grant**
**  ****Develop Funding Mechanisms**
**   ****Facilitate Outreach/Education**
**   ****Link to Researchers**

## Challenges

**Integrating with other efforts; Some see this effort as a plan for Sea Grant while others see it as a regional plan (including NOAA)**
**As much as we work to describe our effort clearly, most players in the region are involved in many quasi-parallel efforts (e.g. NOAA line office efforts, Regional IOOS)**
**Meshing State Program Strategic Plans with regional issues**
**Funding Mechanisms – We tried very hard this omnibus cycle to support regional, but different outcomes in each Program’s panels resulted in very few moving forward**