CenSeam, an International Program on Seamounts Table 3. CenSeam conservation and management activities and outputs (in addition to research publications). Consultation and Advising Participation in the FAO Expert Consultation on Management of High Seas Fisheries Advising the developing South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), including establishing detection criteria for managing trawl impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems [57] Participation in an International Seabed Authority (ISA) workshop that gathered data and identified knowledge gaps for the diversity and distribution patterns of seamount fauna on cobalt-rich crusts, and several additional ISA meetings. Participated in or presented at the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC), 5th World Fisheries Congress, and meetings of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2008 and 2009) Feedback to the IUCN on the application of scientific criteria adopted by parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to identify Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) of the open ocean and deep sea in need of protection, and participation in the development of illustrations for CBD criteria and methods for the identification of seamount EBSAs [58]. Reports Vulnerability of deep-sea corals to fishing on seamounts in areas beyond national jurisdiction [47], a report to the United Nations Environment Programme Assessment of the Conservation Values of the Norfolk Seamounts Area: a component of the Commonwealth Marine Conservation Assessment Program 2002–2004 [59], a report to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage The biodiversity of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts [60,61], reports to the International Seabed Authority International Guidelines for the management of deep-sea fisheries in the high seas [62], a report for the IUCN to the FAO Contributions to the first global oceans and deep seabed biogeographic classification [63], a UNESCO report Connectivity and conservation of Australian and New Zealand seamounts: a molecular approach to assess relationships among their deep sea coral populations [64], a report to the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage instigated, planned and represented the project at 12 special conference sessions; most notably at the European Marine Biology Symposium in 2005 and 2010, to mark the start and end of the CenSeam programme. Special sessions proved a valuable opportunity to showcase CenSeam research, focus research attention on particular scientific questions, and increase awareness of and participation in CenSeam activities. CenSeam also sponsored a planning meeting for the book Seamounts: ecology, fisheries and conservation [33], bringing together a wide cross-section of the seamount community to facilitate the writing of the book. This working meeting, extending over several days, proved valuable in establishing cross-disciplinary linkages and having in- depth discussions of the current state of seamount science. While formal conferences gave opportunities to present recent research, the longer and more informal working meetings were more effective at fostering new research collaborations. 3.4. SeamountsOnline, a global database of seamount biology. The goal of SeamountsOnline [34] was to bring species doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032031.t003 identify previously unidentified specimens from seamounts or to standardize identifications across expeditions, and salary or travel to augment data analyses. In the opinion of the Secretariat, the mini-grants had a high impact per dollar and were a cost-effective mechanism for furthering the goals of CenSeam. The mini-grant program targeted work that was difficult to fund under traditional funding schemes, either because it was too small for a major proposal effort, required too rapid a decision making process, or had a scientific focus that did not match national science funding priorities. The mini-grants were also highly accessible to early- career researchers, helping to further the next generation of seamount scientists. Examples of the scientific outputs of the minigrants can be found this special CenSeam collection in PloS ONE, a special issue of Marine Ecology [1] and Table 2. 3.3 Stand-Alone Conferences and Special Sessions at Conferences. As well as presenting CenSeam results at numerous international conferences, CenSeam researchers Table 4. Primary CenSeam education and outreach activities. Conferences Special Sessions Workshops Education and Outreach CenSeam Newsletters CenSeam researchers initiated and chaired 12 special sessions at scientific conferences. Dedicated seamount sessions at the European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS) marked the start (2005) and end (2010) of CenSeam. CenSeam Image Analysis Workshop. May 2007, Totnes, UK Classification and Identification of Marine Organisms from Images and Video. March 2009, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA Archive of images and video for use by educators and the media (http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/node/371) Voyage Logs (http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/voyages) Press coverage for science results, e.g. ‘‘City of Brittlestars’’ (http://www.coml.org/comlfiles/press/CoML_CenSeam_Public_Release-05-16-08.pdf) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032031.t004 PLoS ONE | www.plosone.org 4 February 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 2 |