Summary Report from the 

First Annual Collaborative Climate Science Workshop

19-21 September 2017

NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center

Honolulu, Hawaii

Phoebe A. Woodworth-Jefcoats

January 2018

Administrative Report H-18-01

https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/AR-PIFSC-H-18-01
About this report

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Administrative Reports are issued to 

promptly disseminate scientific and technical information to marine resource 

managers, scientists, and the public. Their contents cover a range of topics, 

including biological and economic research, stock assessment, trends in fisheries, 

and other subjects. Administrative Reports typically have not been reviewed 

outside the Center. As such, they are considered informal publications. The 

material presented in Administrative Reports may later be published in the formal 

scientific literature after more rigorous verification, editing, and peer review.

Other publications are free to cite Administrative Reports as they wish provided the 

informal nature of the contents is clearly indicated and proper credit is given to the 

author(s).

Administrative Reports may be cited as follows:

Woodworth-Jefcoats, P A. 2018. Summary report from the first annual 

collaborative climate science workshop, 19-21 September 2017, 

NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. Pacific Islands 

Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 

96818-5007. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-18-01, 

31 p. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/AR-PIFSC-H-18-01.

__________________________

For further information direct inquiries to

Chief, Scientific Operations

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce

1845 Wasp Boulevard

Building #176

Honolulu, Hawai`i 96818

Phone: 808-725-5331

Fax: 808-725-5532
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Administrative Report H-18-01

Summary Report from the 

First Annual Collaborative Climate Science Workshop

19-21 September 2017

NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center

Honolulu, Hawaii

Phoebe A. Woodworth-Jefcoats

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

NOAA Inouye Regional Center

1845 Wasp Boulevard

Building #176

Honolulu, Hawaii 96818-5007

January 2018
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iv

CONTENTS

CONTENTS................................................................................................................................... iv

BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 1

EMERGENT THEMES.................................................................................................................. 1

Adaptive Capacity....................................................................................................................... 2

Basic Science and Research........................................................................................................ 2

Monitoring .................................................................................................................................. 3

Projecting Future Conditions...................................................................................................... 3

Persistent Challenges.................................................................................................................. 3

SYNERGIES AND GAPS.............................................................................................................. 4

Synergies..................................................................................................................................... 4

Gaps ............................................................................................................................................ 5

SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS.................................................................................................. 5

Appendix 1—List of Acronyms used in Table 1 .......................................................................... 21

Appendix 2— Agenda .................................................................................................................. 22

Tuesday, 19 September 2017.................................................................................................... 22

Wednesday, 20 September 2017............................................................................................... 22

Thursday, 21 September 2017 .................................................................................................. 22

Appendix 3— List of participants with affiliations...................................................................... 23
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1

BACKGROUND

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS) has enacted a climate science strategy as part of its proactive approach to better 

track, forecast, and incorporate information on changing climate conditions into living marine 

resource management. This strategy is being implemented through customized 5-year Regional 

Action Plans for climate science (RAPs). These RAPs detail regional climate science needs and 

specific action items to address them. The drivers and impacts of climate change vary greatly by 

geographic location. By creating action plans at the regional level, NMFS can tailor its response 

to meet specific challenges and forge critical partnerships at the local level.

A first step in implementing that Pacific Islands Regional Action Plan for climate science 

(PIRAP) is to identify what information is needed by resource managers and what scientific 

research and data are available or being developed. Furthermore, regional staff will need to keep 

abreast of changes on these fronts. To this end, PIRAP authors decided to convene an internal 

Annual Collaborative Climate Science Workshop. The first workshop, detailed here, was held in 

September 2017. It was attended by scientists and advisors from NOAA Fisheries Pacific 

Islands Regional Office (PIRO) and Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), as well as 

the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC). 

The specific goal of this workshop was to identify climate-related information needs, the science 

products available or in development that can address these needs, and also the potential existing 

gaps. The workshop spanned three afternoons, with each afternoon focusing on a specific topic: 

protected species, coral reefs and insular/bottomfish, and pelagic/highly migratory fish. Each 

afternoon, participants met in small groups for facilitated discussions to identify climate-related 

information needs, with each group choosing three “top priority” needs. Participants then 

reconvened for a plenary exercise to aggregate these “top priority” needs and look for 

commonalities. Once an aggregated list was generated, participants identified science products 

that could potentially address individual information needs. Current scientific and/or 

management limitations were also identified. This report synthesizes and summarizes the 

information gathered from this workshop. 

EMERGENT THEMES

The common thread running throughout the workshop was adaptive capacity. In other words, 

how is the climate going to change, and what capacity do ecosystems and communities have to 

adapt to these changes? The information needed to address these questions falls into four broad 

themes which cut across each day’s discussions and information needs. These themes are: Basic 

Science and Research, Monitoring, Projecting Future Conditions, and Persistent Challenges. 

There is also considerable overlap between these themes, as illustrated in Fig. 1. 
2

The example of allowable take/catch limits encompasses the overlap between the workshop’s 

themes well (Fig. 2). Considering climate change in setting these limits first requires a better

understanding of how species are impacted by their environment. What environmental 

conditions are species currently facing and where? How sensitive are species to changes in 

ocean temperature, productivity, and acidification? How sensitive is their prey? These are basic 

science and research questions for which we currently lack answers in many cases. Long-term 

monitoring is an essential first step in gathering the data necessary to answer these questions, and 

then to assess whether and how the environment is changing as well as whether and how species 

may be responding to such change. Projections of future changes are needed to estimate future 

impacts. At each of these steps, challenges related to communicating scientific results, the sheer 

size of the region, and inevitable data gaps must be overcome. Additionally, the information 

gathered at each of these steps can be used toward additional management questions. For 

example, it can help inform questions related to changing human dependency on fisheries, 

trophic cascades, or strategies for effective communication. 

Adaptive Capacity

Most of the information needs raised ultimately relate to adaptive capacity, both of the 

ecosystem and of communities. There were many questions related to species’ response to rising 

temperatures and changing productivity. These ranged from basic questions about physiological 

limits to more nuanced questions about which life stages might be most vulnerable or how sex 

ratios or population viabilities might change as temperatures rise. There were also questions 

about how species will be able to adapt to habitat changes as sea levels rise and the ocean warms. 

Looking beyond protected and managed species, there were a number of questions related to 

social adaptive capacity. How much change in fisheries can fishing communities withstand? 

For example, how far are fishers able to travel? How much and how easily can change in catch 

volume or composition be absorbed?

Basic Science and Research

A number of basic science and research questions were identified across the 3 days of the 

workshop. Some of these questions related to foundational information necessary for stock and 

vulnerability assessments. These included better understanding of populations segments and 

stocks as well as species’ life history rates and parameters, diet studies, process studies, and an 

improved understanding of intermediate trophic levels. These types of basic information are 

needed for a number of both protected and commercially valuable species before we can begin to 

understand how they might be impacted by climate change and what their potential adaptive 

capacity might be. 
3

Workshop participants also highlighted the need for further knowledge on restoration science. 

The importance of traditional knowledge was also raised, along with the need to incorporate 

traditional knowledge into both climate science and the management of living marine resources.

Monitoring

The need for consistent, high-quality, long-term monitoring was raised throughout the workshop. 

This is needed as a component of the basic science discussed above, as well as to establish 

baseline conditions and identify trends. Furthermore, novel approaches to monitoring were 

encouraged. This need, more so than any others, also involves partnering and data sharing. 

Partnerships are essential for maintaining time series across the Pacific Islands region. Data 

sharing is also essential, and given recent federal mandates, is often required.

Projecting Future Conditions

The need for robust projections of future conditions reaches into nearly every question raised at 

the workshop. These projections are needed for a host of variables (productivity, temperature, 

acidity, sea level, etc.) to determine things like habitat shifts, risk to critical infrastructure, and 

stock movement. They’re also needed at scales that are currently challenging: fine 

spatiotemporal scales and in dynamic coastal environments. Projections of future conditions are 

needed for scenario planning and population assessments. 

Along the lines of projecting future conditions, a number of workshop participants identified the 

need for scenario planning. For example, there are situations where managers need robust 

alternative future scenarios to evaluate proposed management actions. Scenario planning is also 

needed to determine the impact that a proposed management action might have on the future 

climate. 

Persistent Challenges

Several persistent challenges were identified. One challenge that was raised each day was that of 

effective communication between stakeholders, managers, and scientists. Scientists are often not 

particularly skillful in communicating their work to non-scientists, including managers and 

stakeholders. Additionally, there is also a lack of effective communication in the opposite 

direction. This is important because managing living marine resources in a changing 

environment will inevitably involve tradeoffs. Deciding how to balance these tradeoffs depends, 

in part, on understanding how stakeholders value different resources. For example, if changing 

ocean conditions result in increased interactions between fisheries and protected species, the 

value the public places on fisheries will have to be weighed against that which it places on 

protected species. A similar tradeoff could result as rising sea levels create a choice between 

preserving either infrastructure or critical habitat. Effective communication between all parties 

will be crucial in these situations. Furthermore, effective communication has the potential to 
4

increase trust between scientists, managers, and stakeholders, which could lead to benefits such 

as higher-quality fishery-dependent data and improved regulatory compliance.

Another persistent challenge was the transboundary nature of many living marine resources in 

the Pacific Islands region. Many organisms routinely move between State, Federal, and 

international waters. While this has obvious management challenges, it also leads to challenges 

in monitoring species to gain basic information about their life history, diet, and adaptive 

capacity. 

Finally, and perhaps not unexpectedly, the challenge of limited resources was raised. The 

Pacific Islands region has few, if any, staff working full-time on climate science. Furthermore, 

the region is both vast and far from the continental United States. The region’s size makes 

monitoring both expensive and time consuming. And the region’s remoteness can make 

collaborating with the broader scientific community challenging. 

Additional challenges identified included those related to the legal challenges associated with the 

uncertainty inherent in climate change, the long-term commitments necessary for effective 

monitoring, historical and international data gaps, and constraints imposed by management 

structures.

SYNERGIES AND GAPS

Pairing existing in-house science products with climate-related information needs illustrated both 

synergies and gaps. Furthermore, a number of science products were identified as being able to 

meet multiple information needs, often spanning two or three of the daily workshop topics (Fig. 

1). The current scientific and management limitations that participants raised further illustrated 

gaps.

Synergies

The workshop identified over three times as many unique science products as it did information 

needs. At the same time, several science products were identified as being able to meet multiple 

needs. This is encouraging and suggests that a considerable amount of information already 

exists that can be brought to bear on current resource management. 

The topic that appears to have the most potential synergies is the impact of climate on bottomfish 

and the bottomfish fishery (Table 1). Multiple bottomfish monitoring data sets were identified

(fishery-dependent and -independent), as well as time series of environmental conditions and 

preliminary research on this topic. Additionally, an Atlantis model that is in development will be 

applicable to this topic. 

Taking the opposite perspective on potential synergies – individual products that can address 

multiple information needs – there are several examples. The Main Hawaiian Islands Atlantis 
5

model that’s in development was identified as being able to address quite a number of 

information needs. Data hosted by the OceanWatch program was also identified as having many 

potential applications. Likewise, a range of coral reef environment time series were identified 

throughout the workshop. Finally, several socioeconomic monitoring products were identified as 

applicable to information needs raised for each of the workshop’s daily topics.

Gaps

Only one information need was raised for which no science products were identified. This was 

the sensitivity of prey and target species (e.g., calcareous plankton, larval fish) to ocean 

acidification. While there is work being conducted at PIFSC to understand the impacts of ocean 

acidification on coral reef and benthic communities, no work is being done for pelagic 

organisms. Given that the region’s most valuable commercial fishery is the pelagic longline tuna 

fishery, this is a significant information void. That said, it is worth noting that very little 

research has been done on this topic by the broader scientific community. If the right 

collaborators can be identified, this is a topic ripe for investigation.

Additional gaps were identified by the current scientific and management limitations that 

participants raised in response to information needs. Most of these tied back to the basic science 

and research needs discussed above. For example, a number of participants highlighted the lack 

of baseline population information. A lack of clear mechanistic understanding about the impact 

of environmental change on species across their life histories was also consistently highlighted. 

SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS

The first Annual Collaborative Climate Science Workshop brought together participants from a 

range of scientific, management, and community backgrounds, thereby allowing scientists and 

managers to become more familiar with each other’s work. The workshop’s exercises 

highlighted pressing climate-related information needs that can help direct the region’s climate 

science. Additionally, more than 80 unique science products with points of contact were 

identified and are available to all workshop participants and local NMFS leadership. This list 

should not only help managers access the information they’re seeking, but it should also lead to 

collaboration between scientists and to wider application of existing data. 

Addressing some of the persistent challenges and gaps identified through this workshop is a 

logical next step. While the most-commonly stated need was for improved future projections, 

accomplishing this is likely beyond the expertise of regional staff (though it is an area of active 

research by other NOAA entities and collaborators). However, another highly ranked need was 

for better understanding of mechanistic relationships between the environment and species’ life 

history, diet, abundance, and range. This information is essential for climate-informed 

management strategies. It is also an area where quite a number of science products and 

preliminary studies were identified. Focusing resources on this area of research could have a 
large and positive impact on the region’s ability to incorporate changing climate conditions into 

living marine resource management.

6 

It is hoped that the information generated at the first Annual Collaborative Climate Science 

Workshop can help inform regional NMFS planning and priorities as they relate to climate 

science and the management of living marine resources in a changing environment. It’s clear 

from this workshop that a tremendous amount of information and motivation exists. The 

challenge now is to continuing moving forward and to identify the activities that can provide the 

most broadly-applicable information. 

See you next year!

The second Annual Collaborative Climate Science Workshop will be held in September 2018. If 

you’d like to help plan the workshop or provide feedback on this year’s workshop, please 

contact:

PIFSC: Phoebe.Woodworth-Jefcoats@noaa.gov

PIRO: Ariel.Jacobs@noaa.gov 

WCPFC: Sylvia.Spalding@wpcouncil.org
7

Figure 1 Conceptual diagram illustrating the considerable overlap between the workshop’s 

emergent themes (base), information needs raised (left side), and science products available to 

meet these needs (right side). Each node on the left side represents an information need listed in 

Table 1. Each node on the right side represents a unique science product identified (Table 1). 

Lines connect needs with respective science products, and connect both with the applicable 

emergent theme(s).

Figure 2 Schematic diagram illustrating the information needed for climate-informed allowable 

takes/catch limits, the challenges in providing this information, the science products currently 

available to meet these information needs, and the utility of these products in addressing 

additional information needs. These pathways are indicated in red in the scaled version of Fig. 1 

in the upper left. Colored squares indicate the themes that emerged during the workshop: 

Basic science and research, Monitoring, Projecting future conditions, and Persistent 

challenges.
8

Table 1 Consolidated “Top Priority” information needs, available science products, and current limitations. Common threads are 

identified at the top of each color block, with individual needs bulleted below. Applicable science products and points of contact 

follow. Limitations are noted by italics. Information needs are listed in rank order by the number of science products identified to 

meet each need. All acronyms are defined in Appendix 1.

Need for fine-scale information on current and future climate

• Improved spatial maps that capture current and future impacts to primary productivity

•Quality predictions for dynamic, spatial projected sea level rise, productivity, temperature shifts for climate driven variables 

relevant to protected resources

•Having oceanographic, climate, and fishery data at appropriate temporal and spatial scales, e.g., oxygen minimum depths finer than 

1o and at fine time scales

•What are spatial/temporal patterns of decreasing productivity from increasing stratification and other climate-related oceanographic 

elements?

• Impact of changes in habitat compression/expansion due to climate change on catchability and susceptibility to exploitation 

•Exposure: Better predictions of future changes (subsurface temperature, ocean acidification, changes in frequency and intensity of 

storms/ENSO cycles)

• Fine scale, interactive spatial and temporal maps that contain layers of relevant biotic, abiotic, and human data. 

OceanWatch provides ocean satellite data: SST, chlorophyll, PAR, wind, SSH and currents, 

eddy kinetic energy, salinity

Merged ocean color data set (SeaWiFS, MODIS, VIIRS) developed by ESA to look at long-term Melanie.Abecassis@noaa.gov

trends in chlorophyll concentration and primary productivity. Soon to be available on 

OceanWatch site

Examining impacts of changing El Niño patterns and ocean warming on central Pacific fish 

catch Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov Examining changing locations of spawning habitats of skipjack tuna in the Western Pacific from 

climate change.

Habitat compression and frequency of ENSO events on catchability of billfish in the eastern 

Pacific Ocean and tropical central Pacific and how exploitation risks are enhanced Mark.Fitchett@noaa.gov

Community Vulnerability Social Indicators/Community snapshots may have applicable data Danika.Kleiber@noaa.gov

Social component of the West Hawaii IEA to start in October Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov
9

Table 1 (continued)

Need for fine-scale information on current and future climate (cont.)

Jeff Maynard is currently working with University of Guam on several outlook reports that 

predict ecological outcomes at key locations associated with a variety of management 

regimes. This work currently includes several locations in the Marianas and could be expanded 

to other locations. 

Steve.McKagan@noaa.gov

Vulnerability of islands habitat to coastal flooding/erosion in a changing climate: total water 

level, as well as magnitude, frequency, and duration projections “TESLA” John.Marra@noaa.gov

Modeling oceanic-nearshore dynamics in seawater carbonate Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov 

Hannah.Barkley@noaa.gov

Spatial, temporal, and environmental modeling of swordfish length distribution Michelle.Sculley@noaa.gov

Socioeconomic monitoring Supin.

Assessing and building social adaptive capacities of fisheries resources and fishing communities Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

4-D output from ~12 CMIP5 earth system models Phoebe.WoodworthJefcoats@noaa.gov

Remote sensing data: ocean color data junk in water 

< 30-m depth, spatial resolution = 1 km at best Melanie.Abecassis@noaa.gov

Lack of information about habitat compression of tuna and tuna-like species due to 

deoxygenation and the impact on standardized catch per unit effort, a measure of relative 

abundance

Jon.Brodziak@noaa.gov

Oxygen data is periodically objectively analyzed every 3 years in World Ocean Atlas, other more 

readily available and empirically estimated variables can be used in lieu of oxygen at depth as 

effective proxies

Mark.Fitchett@noaa.gov
10

Table 1 (continued)

Need to understand future shifts in species distribution

• Impacts of spatial shifts of fisheries and protected resources and how they affect management dynamics and socio-economics 

• Predicted shifts in reef, fish, and human communities. Establish a baseline, understanding cause and effect and then using these data 

to identify winners and losers 

• Species specific distribution changes due to climate change

Long-term carbonate chemistry/monitoring of coral reefs across the Pacific Islands Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Long-term monitoring of coral reef benthic community structure/demographics across Pacific 

Islands

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Bernardo.VargasAngel@noaa.gov

Telemetry data with horizontal tracks and time series of depth and temperature for bigeye 

thresher, mako, blue, silky, and oceanic white-tip sharks Melanie.Hutchinson@noaa.gov

Social component of the West Hawaii IEA to start in October Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov

At present, MOUSS camera surveys are only measuring size and abundance for the Deep 7 

species. We identify other (reef/mesopelagic) species (some may be shifting to deeper depths) 

but this data is not readily accessible. I am interested in creating a sharable database for this 

information. 

Dianna.Miller@noaa.gov

CAU accretion sensitivity to seawater carbonate Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov

Fishery-independent survey for Hawaii Deep 7 bottomfish covers all known habitat in MHI Benjamin.Richards@noaa.gov

Climate change effects on tuna spawning: climate projections, skipjack tuna thermal range Roberto.Venegas@noaa.gov

MHI Atlantis – model simulations will give an understanding of how fisheries and protected 

resources will shift assuming data on thermal tolerance and other physiological limitations are

available

Mariska.Weijerman@noaa.gov

Assessing and building social adaptive capacities of fisheries resources and fishing communities Supin.

Socioeconomic monitoring Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

Shifting fishing grounds based on changes in target species’ thermal habitat Phoebe.WoodworthJefcoats@noaa.gov

Adequate specification of research priorities for Human Communities: attitudes and values 

toward protected species and government regulation, especially critical habitats, communication 

– rational science-based vs. emotionality

Craig Severance

sevc@hawaii.edu
11

Table 1 (continued)

Need for climate-informed fishery assessments

•Incorporating climate drivers into population assessments 

•Need for climate-informed fishery assessments and setting of catch limits 

•Is climate affecting the Deep 7 bottomfish and reef fish stocks and/or fisheries?

Bottomfish abundance trends and environmental drivers (2011 PIFSC Admin Rep.) Jon.Brodziak@noaa.gov

Pacific Islands Vulnerability Assessment: Analyze the vulnerability of fish and invertebrate 

stocks to climate change by synthesizing current sensitivity and exposure data, and use expert 

opinion to rank the relative vulnerability of species. Products include 'species narratives' that 

identify vulnerable species as well as data gaps. 

Jonatha.Giddens@noaa.gov

Donald.Kobayashi@noaa.gov

Population models including sex ratio, embryonic death with temperature and assessment of sex 

ratios at foraging/in-water Todd.Jones@noaa.gov

Ongoing Deep 7 Hawaii bottomfish stock assessment (draft form) incorporates effect of wind on 

CPUE, incorporates fishery-dependent estimate from survey Brian.Langseth@noaa.gov

Hawaii Bottomfish heritage project – oral histories may have observations relevant to climate 

change? Not yet analyzed for this question Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov

Fishery-independent bottomfish surveys (MOUSS cameras) are collecting depth/temperature 

data at all sites, including at depth (> 200 m) and throughout the water column. As far as I 

know, no one is sharing or using this data

Dianna.Miller@noaa.gov

Recreating missing population baseline for Pacific reef sharks. Paper published in Conservation 

Biology (2012). Establishes link between reef shark abundance and oceanic productivity and 

temperature, which are projected to change

Marc.Nadon@noaa.gov

Fishery-independent survey of Hawaii Deep 7 bottomfish covers all known habitat in MHI Benjamin.Richards@noaa.gov

The Council developed a framework to incorporate climate change uncertainties in the p* and 

SEEM analysis Marlowe.

The council is supporting the development of ecosystem indictors that will be used to inform Sabater@wpcouncil.org

fishery management

MHI Atlantis – model simulations of climate change into population assessments Mariska.Weijerman@noaa.gov

No general template or consistency between ESA status assessments (e.g., sea turtles) to 

determine Distinct Population Segments and incorporation of risk due to climate change Camryn.Allen@noaa.gov

Need mechanistic studies quantifying relationships between environmental variables and life 

history/demographic parameters to further incorporate environment into stock assessments

Mariska.Weijerman@noaa.gov

Annie.Yau@noaa.gov
12

Table 1 (continued)

Need for climate-informed management frameworks 

•How do we persuade managers to elevate the priority of and incorporate climate into management, e.g., proactive packaging of 

scenarios 

•Develop strategies for resilience based management (recognizing the predicted massive loss of coral reef habitats due to climate) 

•Have effective fisheries management in place now to adapt to a changing climate, resources, environment

•Long-term commitment to precautionary principle beyond political timescales

Incorporating considerations of climate change into an ecosystem approach to fisheries 

management: Heenan et al. 2015 Marine Policy Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Excavating parrotfishes are a focus of climate resilience based management interventions, due to 

their role as ecological engineers on coral reefs. We are performing an Indo-Pacific wide 

assessment to understand how natural environmental drivers, such as temperature, reef 

biogeography and cyclones, influence the distribution and abundance of these fishes. This will 

provide context and understanding on management targets for these fishes on different reef types 

subject to different environmental conditions.

Adel.Heenan@gmail.com

Social component of the West Hawaii IEA to start in October Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov

Using CCVA data for US Pacific Island Reefs to support RBM strategy development Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov

The Council is developing the “Living Fishery Ecosystem Plans” that allow the Council to adapt 

real-time to changes in fishery management needs Marlowe.

The Council is supporting the development of ecosystem indicators that will be used to inform Sabater@wpcouncil.org

fishery management

MAFAC Resilience Working Group white paper on management actions that allow a nimbler 

response to changes in fisheries

Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Coral reef (fish, coral, community) effects: early life stage data for marine species (coral, fish, 

coral communities, etc.), identify/collect height information to understand coral/algae effects, 

current/waves changes/magnitudes

Roberto.Venegas@noaa.gov

MHI Atlantis – scenario simulations Mariska.Weijerman@noaa.gov

Assessing and building social adaptive capacities of fisheries resources and fishing communities Supin.

Socioeconomic monitoring Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

Catch and effort data for non-commercial fisheries throughout Council region. HMRFSS and 

MRIP raw data, some utility but catch expansions highly suspect. No similar data effort for 

commonwealth and territories.

Craig Severance

sevc@hawaii.edu
13 

Table 1 (continued) 

Need for climate-informed management frameworks (cont’d)

Understand scope for herbivore management to improve coral resilience: what are key 

herbivores? What are threshold abundance levels? What is local carrying capacity/scope for 

recovery of herbivores if better managed? Ivor.Williams@noaa.gov

What are source/sink areas (i.e., areas that can be seed banks if well protected)? 

Need to understand how species will be affected by changing climate conditions

•Adaptive capacity of habitats and protected resources 

•Data that can help us understand and predict how changes in oceanographic conditions (at various geographic scales) will affect 

biological parameters of key species 

•How biology changes sensitivity in response to climate (growth, mortality, spawning, reproductive viability)

Reef bioerosion rates across Pacific Islands Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Reef accretion rates across Pacific Islands Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov

Long-term monitoring of distribution, abundance, diversity, size of reef fishes across Pacific 

Islands

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Ivor.Williams@noaa.gov

Recruitment success and failure of billfish due to AMO, northern equatorial current, and 

degradation of NECC and ECC (specifically sailfish, blue marlin, black marlin) Mark.Fitchett@noaa.gov Recruitment dynamics of Kona crab in MHI: is recruitment drive by environment or density 

dependent? Is recruitment failure due to climate-driven shifts in circulation?

I’m doing a piggyback project, which involves collecting algal specimens along fish survey 

transects at Jarvis on MARAMP 2017 survey efforts. These collections are intended to groundtruth identifications of specimens from photo IDs. I proposed to compare pre/post-El Niño 

algal/benthic community using my data and Peter Vroom’s previous data to take a closer look at 

the benthic community shift into an algal dominated environment. 

Louise.Giuseffi@noaa.gov 
14

Table 1 (continued)

Need to understand how species will be affected by changing climate conditions (cont’d)

Changes in life history across the Mariana Archipelago. Data set: collection of 6 species of 

commercially harvested reef fish from Uracus to Guam. To be expanded to ~10 species during 

SE-18-03. Goal: to determine the magnitude and generality of life history variation across the 

latitudinal gradient of the Mariana Archipelago. Will include extrapolations from uninhabited to 

populated locations to infer “natural” trait values in heavily fished areas. 

Brett.Taylor@noaa.gov

To address magnitude of change in life history traits across latitudinal gradient of sea surface 

temperature. Data set: age-based demographic samples from 12+ populations of bluespine 

unicornfish across the Pacific basin. Future work could extrapolate patterns through time based 

on climate projections.

To address magnitude of change in life history traits across spatial environmental gradients: Data 

set: demographic population samples (age-based demographic data) from 40+ populations of 

bullethead parrotfish across the entire Indo-Pacific, Goal: to examine the drivers and relative 

magnitude of variation related to sea surface temperature and productivity (chl-a). Future work 

could extrapolate patterns through time based on climate projections.

Need to understand how climate change will impact infrastructure

•How does climate affect the frequency of severe weather events and their impact on fisheries infrastructure?

Community Vulnerability Social Indicators may identify some vulnerable infrastructure Danika.Kleiber@noaa.gov

Social component of the IEA to start in October Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov

Information on storms John.Marra@noaa.gov

Old data: effort triggers, fish flow, and customary exchange in American Samoa and CNMI Craig Severance

sevc@hawaii.edu

SAFE reports tracking named storms and hurricanes and may monitor ex-storms in future Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Assessing and building social adaptive capacities of fisheries resources and fishing communities Supin.

Socioeconomic monitoring Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

Baseline data on fishing communities and fishery dependent communities at a finer scale focused 

on harbor ramps, boat building and repair facilities, wholesalers, processors, retailers, 

including fishing gear businesses

Craig Severance

sevc@hawaii.edu
15

Table 1 (continued)

Need for spatial ecosystem and habitat models

•Spatial ecosystem models (Atlantis-like) for analyzing trade-offs 

•Better dynamic spatial habitat models for “critical habitat”/listed corals to understand habitat shifts and prey dynamics

•Climate informed ecosystem modelling to support management

Spatial drivers of coral size structure Marie.Ferguson@noaa.gov

Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov

The Council and PIFSC’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Research Program supports the development 

of an Ecosim model for the American Samoa coral reef ecosystem. This incorporates climate 

change variables in future projections of impacts. Marlowe.

Sabater@wpcouncil.org The Council supports the development of Atlantis model for the Western Pacific jurisdiction 

through the Pacific Islands Fisheries Research Program. This incorporates climate change 

impacts and projections.

Habitat use analysis of coral taxa, protected species tool box Dione.Swanson@noaa.gov

Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov

MHI Atlantis model Mariska.Weijerman@noaa.gov

Need for improved communication of climate science

•Improved communication to general audiences (non-scientists) regarding impacts of climate change

OceanWatch program provide satellite data, develops climate indicators for various projects, and 

has visualization tools on its website Melanie.Abecassis@noaa.gov

In the CNMI and Guam this outreach occurs via targeted programs like ‘eyes on the reef’, ad hoc 

opportunities such as expert panels during public showings of films like ‘Chasing Corals’ and 

during one off events like student expos associated with earth day

Steve.McKagan@noaa.gov

Communicating climate change and NOAA research on it – survey conducted by the NOAA 

Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) Resiliency Working Group

Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Train-the-Trainer and fishing community workshops on climate and fisheries: Sept 28 Hawaii, 

Oct 14 and 16 American Samoa, Nov 15 and 17 CNMI and Guam

Climate chapter of annual Stock Assessment and Fisheries Evaluation (SAFE) reports for the 

Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) for the Western Pacific Region

Basic knowledge of science of communication, no current funding or research agenda for 

audience research related to climate change specifically, but interest from PR (PIRO)/PS 

(PIFSC) for upcoming year

Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov
16

Table 1 (continued)

Need for baseline information on species’ and stocks’ demographics

•Baseline information for protected resources including diet, prey dynamics, abundance, distribution, etc. 

•Better stock definitions for managed species to help understand future movements, geographic relocations due to climate

Telemetry data with horizontal tracks and time series of depth and temperature for bigeye thresher, 

mako, blue, silky, and oceanic white-tip sharks

Melanie.

Hutchinson@noaa.gov

PIR grant funded sea turtle projects (monitoring, baseline data) Irene.Kelly@noaa.gov

Hawaii and Pacific Islands environmental indicators: monitoring, patterns, and trends John.Marra@noaa.gov

PIFSC PSD conducts surveys on distribution, abundance, movements, and structure of cetaceans, 

turtles, and monk seals (systematic surveys, satellite tagging, genetic sampling) Erin.Oleson@noaa.gov

MTBAP and HMSRP use stomach contents, stable isotopes, and other measures to examine diet 

Very little is known about diet components and flexibility in diet for most cetaceans Erin.Oleson@noaa.gov

Constrained by how management (RFMOs) are set up Annie.Yau@noaa.gov

Need to better understand how communities prioritize resources

•Better understanding of priorities/values of human communities around climate impacts

Baseline attitudes, preferences of Hawaii non-commercial fishers toward various marine threats 

(climate change, sea level rise, marine mammal interactions), 2015 survey Justin.Hospital@noaa.gov

The CNMI is currently developing a new reef economic evaluation study to replace the previous 

2006 study which should include climate consideration. The previous study was - van Beukering et 

al., 2006.

Steve.McKagan@noaa.gov

State/Territorial surveys of fishing community attitudes about climate change – conducted by 

members of WPRFMC’s Marine Planning and Climate Change Committee

Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Supin has worked a lot in this area especially at the community level Supin.

Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

Need to better understand climate’s impact on intermediate trophic levels

•Understanding impacts of climate change distribution and dynamics of intermediate trophic levels (indirect) 

•Better understanding of climate impacts on the general distribution, status, and trends of mid-trophic species

SEAPODYM micronekton model, developed by Patrick Lehodey CLS, France Melanie.

Abecassis@noaa.gov

Ecological impacts of ocean acidification on cryptobiota, monitoring of cryptic invertebrates of 

nearshore habitats of Pacific Islands Region

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Molly.Timmers@noaa.gov
17

Table 1 (continued)

Need to better understand climate’s impact on intermediate trophic levels (cont.)

MHI Atlantis – model simulation of climate change (projected temperature increase and ocean 

acidification) on insular ecosystem including intermediate trophic levels

Mariska.

Weijerman@noaa.gov

Lancetfish diet time series addresses spatial and temporal changes in mid-trophic levels in subtropical 

gyre

Phoebe.WoodworthJefcoats@noaa.gov

Need commitment to long-term monitoring

•Commitment to long-term monitoring to inform, validate, and improve models

Long-term carbonate chemistry/monitoring of coral reefs across the Pacific Islands Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Long-term monitoring of coral reef benthic community structure/demographics across the Pacific 

Islands

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Bernardo.VargasAngel@noaa.gov

The Council is working with the PIFSC on developing the ecosystem consideration module in the 

Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report Marlowe.

Sabater@wpcouncil.org The Council is developing the data integration module of the SAFE report. This module aims to 

integrate environmental/climate variables in the fishery-dependent data (coral reef & bottomfish) so 

that the interpretation of fishery trends is in an ecosystem context

Other needs related to sensitivity to climate change

•Other science/efforts related to sensitivity to climate change

Monk seals – several studies have highlighted climate-related impacts, including sea level rise and 

potential habitat loss, changing productivity (TZCF position) as related to survival, and ocean 

currents that impact debris and entanglement

Jason.Baker@noaa.gov

Ecological impacts of ocean acidification: long-term monitoring of production and removal of 

calcium carbonate of nearshore marine ecosystems of the Pacific Islands Region. The balance of 

production and removal provides essential information about long-term survival/persistence of coral 

reefs and associated ecosystem services they provide, including coastal protection (wave dynamics) 

influencing sea level rise impacts

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Climate vulnerability assessments underway for turtles, and later mammals Todd.Jones@noaa.gov

Vulnerability assessments related to sea level rise have been developed for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota 

in the CNMI: http://www.crm.gov.mp/resources/files/Rota_Tinian_

CC_VulnerabilityAssessment_Final.pdf 

Steve.McKagan@noaa.gov
18

Table 1 (continued)

Need to understand how climate change will impact protected species interactions

•How might climate impact fisheries and all human interactions with protected resources (development, tourism, etc.)?

Workshop on factors influencing albatross interactions in the Hawaii Longline Fishery (identifying 

drivers and quantifying impacts), looking at environmental factors (including oceanography and 

possible links with El Niño), (Council/PIFSC/PIRO)

Asuka.

Ishizaki@wpcouncil.org

Understanding environmental drivers associated with marine turtles (olive ridley, leatherback) 

interactions Todd.Jones@noaa.gov

Monk seal program tracks fisheries interactions in MHI better data always desired Stacie.Robinson@noaa.gov

MHI Atlantis – model simulations will increase understanding of the climate effects of fisheries 

interactions and other human activities

Mariska.

Weijerman@noaa.gov

Need to for information to gauge social adaptive capacity

•Baselines, predictions, and perceptions of climate impacts on ecosystem services (social adaptive capacity) 

•How will climate impact the degree of human dependency on fisheries?

Social component of the IEA to start in October Kirsten.Leong@noaa.gov

Climate and fisheries workshops for fishing communities and Marine Planning and Climate Change 

Committee meetings

Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Socioeconomic monitoring Supin.

Assessing and building social adaptive capacities of fisheries resources and fishing communities Wongbusarakum@noaa.gov

Survey instruments for different island areas (state/territories) Sylvia.

Spalding@wpcouncil.org

Other needs related to exposure to climate change

•Other science related to exposure to climate change

Ecological impacts of ocean acidification on island ecosystems across the US Pacific Islands. We are 

monitoring (long-term) carbonate chemistry of nearshore seawater around most islands. Water 

samples are collected since 2005 and analyzed for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total 

alkalinity (TA), plus salinity. We compute pH and saturation state across the PIR. 

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Long-term monitoring of nearshore vertical thermal structure around most of the US Pacific Islands. 

Temperature recorders at depths of 1, 5, 15, and 25 m around ~4 sides of islands to monitor 

stratification and mixing. 

Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Thomas.Oliver@noaa.gov
19

Table 1 (continued)

Other needs related to climate change’s impact on social systems

•Other science/efforts related to social systems and climate change

Community Vulnerability Social Indictors Analysis of secondary data (e.g., Census) for fishing 

communities, can be analyzed with respect to climate change (sea level rise) Danika.Kleiber@noaa.gov

Vulnerability of coastal communities and fisheries (commercial and recreational) to climate change Mariska.

Weijerman@noaa.gov

Need for international partnerships

•Buy-in by international partners to incorporate climate data into assessments, improve transparency, data sharing, and 

communication

Assessment report of 2014 – 2016 El Nino, impacts on Pacific Island countries Michael Rupic

michaelcrupic@ucla.edu

Fishermen concerns about confidential information/ “trade secrets” becoming public Michelle.Sculley@noaa.gov

Need for technical data mining tools

•Use modern technical tools and capabilities to mine historic data sets for improving climate models (e.g., neural networks)

Paleoclimate records from coral cores to better reconstruct climate changes across 

Pacific Islands region Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Language barriers to accessing old data/papers (e.g., some are in Japanese) Johanna.Wren@noaa.gov

Other needs related to climate change’s impact on protected species

•Other climate science related to protected species

Climate change vulnerability assessment for Pacific Marine National Monuments through a grant 

from PIRO awarded to Texas A&M University, completed in 2016 Heidi.Hirsh@noaa.gov

Need for clear data collection protocols

•Clear data collection protocols that improve sharing information across agencies so we can expand available data

PARR team working on streamlining some of the data collection procedures (e.g., CTD)

Jesse.Abdul@noaa.gov

Melanie.

Abecassis@noaa.gov
20

Table 1 (continued)

Need to understand whether management actions will influence climate system

•How our management actions would have an impact on climate, e.g., carbon footprint for vessels traveling farther to fish needing 

more fuel and ice, imports

Knowledge of possible publication on this topic Rusty.Brainard@noaa.gov

Need to understand how specific life stages are impacted by climate change

•Can we identify the most important drivers or variables for each life stage/habitat for each protected resource species (direct and 

indirect)?

CRP collects data on occurrence and abundance of cetaceans in Hawaii and other PIR areas and is 

involved in analyses to relate those measures to remotely-sensed oceanographic variables to better 

understand habitat relationships and develop predictive models of distribution/abundance with 

specific conditions

Erin.Oleson@noaa.gov

Need to understand how climate change impacts might cascade through food webs

•Understanding cascading effects through the food web

Validation of integrative systemic indicators on the trophic composition of coral reef communities, 

how these vary across existing spatial gradients in the environment, how they may vary in the future 

given SST and chlorophyll projections

Adel.Heenan@gmail.com

Need to understand synergy between climate change impacts

•Teasing out the fleet behavior in response to economic drivers that are affected by climate change, e.g., impacts on fish distribution 

in conjunction with fuel prices (synergy between factors)

I have a proposal (FY19) to try to examine whether the Hawaii longline fishery location decisions are 

economic, oceanographic, or management driven HingLing.Chan@noaa.gov

Need to understand pelagic impacts of ocean acidification

•Sensitivity of prey (or target) species to ocean acidification, e.g., calcareous plankton, larval fish

No science products or limitations identified
21

APPENDIX 1—LIST OF ACRONYMS USED IN TABLE 1

AMO Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation

CAU Calcification Accretion Unit

CCVA Climate Change Vulnerability Analysis

Chl-a Chlorophyll-a

CLS Collecte Localisation Satellites

CMIP5 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, 5th phase

CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

CPUE Catch Per Unit Effort

CRP Cetacean Research Program

CTD Conductivity-Temperature-Depth

ECC Equatorial Counter Current

ENSO El Niño – Southern Oscillation

ESA Endangered Species Act

ESA European Space Agency

HMRFSS Hawaii Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical

Survey

HMSRP Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program

IDs Identifications

IEA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment

MAFAC Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

MHI Main Hawaiian Islands

MARAMP Mariana Archipelago Reef Assessment and

Monitoring Program

MRIP Marine Recreational Information Program

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MOUSS Modular Optical Underwater Survey System

MTBAP Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program

NECC North Equatorial Counter Current

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

PAR Photosynthetically Available Radiation

PARR Public Access to Research Results

PIFSC Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

PIR Pacific Islands Region

PIRO Pacific Islands Regional Office

PR (PIRO)Protected Resources (Pacific Islands Regional

Office)

PS (PIFSC) Protected Species (Pacific Islands Fisheries

Science Center)

PSD Protected Species Division

RBM Resource Based Management

RFMOs Regional Fishery Management Organizations

SAFE Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation

SeaWiFS Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor

SE-18-03 SE-18-03 is a planned PIFSC research cruise to the 

Marianas that will focus on fish life history

SEEM Social, Economic, Ecological, and Management

Uncertainty

SSH Sea Surface Height

SST Sea Surface Temperature

TESLA Time-varying Emulator for Short- and Long-Term

Analysis of Coastal Flooding

TZCF Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front

VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite

WPRFMC Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council
22

APPENDIX 2— AGENDA

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

1:00pm Welcome and introduction

1:15pm National Climate Assessment update from Jeff Polovina

1:30pm Small group discussions to identify climate-related management and stakeholder 

information needs related to protected species

2:00pm Reconvene and share lists with full group

2:30pm Break

2:45pm Snow carding exercise to identify individual science products that can meet 

identified information needs

3:15pm Review snow cards

3:45pm Wrap up and adjourn

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

1:00pm Welcome and introduction

1:15pm Small group discussions to identify climate-related management and stakeholder 

information needs related to coral reefs and insular/bottomfish

1:45pm Break

2:00pm Reconvene and share lists with full group

2:45pm Snow carding exercise to identify individual science products that can meet 

identified information needs

3:15pm Review snow cards

3:45pm Wrap up and adjourn

Thursday, 21 September 2017

1:00pm Welcome and introduction

1:15pm Small group discussions to identify climate-related management and stakeholder 

information needs related to pelagic and highly migratory fish

1:45pm Break

2:00pm Reconvene and share lists with full group

2:45pm Snow carding exercise to identify individual science products that can meet 

identified information needs

3:15pm Review snow cards

3:45pm Wrap up and adjourn
23

APPENDIX 3— LIST OF PARTICIPANTS WITH AFFILIATIONS

Melanie Abecassis Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Seema Balwani National Environmental Satellite, Data, and

Information Service

Rusty Brainard Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Jon Brodziak Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Melanie Brown Pacific Islands Regional Office

Valerie Brown Pacific Islands Regional Office

Hing Ling Chan Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Emily Crigler Pacific Islands Regional Office

Lorilee Crisostomo Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council, Marine Planning and Climate

Change Committee Chair

Paul Dalzell Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council

Sarah Ellgen Pacific Islands Regional Office

Mark Fitchett Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Jonatha Giddens Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Louise Giuseffi Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Dawn Golden Pacific Islands Regional Office

Lesley Hawn Pacific Islands Regional Office

Adel Heenan Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Now at Bangor University

Heidi Hirsh Pacific Islands Regional Office

Justin Hospital Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Evan Howell Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Asuka Ishizaki Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council

Ariel Jacobs Pacific Islands Regional Office

T. Todd Jones Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Irene Kelly Pacific Islands Regional Office

Danika Kleiber Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Mike Lameier Pacific Islands Regional Office

Kirsten Leong Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 

Beth Lumsden Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Michelle Mansker Pacific Islands Regional Office

John Marra National Environmental Satellite, Data, and

Information Service

Michelle McGregor Pacific Islands Regional Office

Steve McKagen Pacific Islands Regional Office
24

APPENDIX 3 (continued)

Lyn McNutt Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council, Marine Planning and Climate

Change Committee member

Dianna Miller Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Marc Nadon Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Erin Oleson Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Thomas Oliver Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Risa Oram Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Jeff Polovina Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Jennifer Raynor Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Stacie Robinson Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Michael Rupic National Environmental Satellite, Data, and

Information Service intern from University 

of California, Los Angeles

Marlowe Sabater Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council

Jennifer Samson Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Michelle Sculley Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Craig Severance Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council, Scientific and Statistical

Committee member

Sylvia Spalding Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management

Council

Roberto Venegas Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Mariska Weijerman Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Ivor Williams Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Supin Wongbusarakum Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Johanna Wren Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Annie Yau Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
25

Available upon request from Phoebe.Woodworth-Jefcoats@noaa.gov:

Appendix 4— Daily “Top Priority” information needs, available science products, and current 

limitations (note that all this information is consolidated into Table 1)

Appendix 5—Detailed small group discussion notes