Convention for a North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES)
No implementing legislation. Self-executing treaty; under the general authority of the Secretary of State.
Canada, Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States of America
PICES Secretariat
Institute of Ocean Sciences
P.O. Box 6000
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 4B2
Web site: http://pices.ios.bc.ca
Executive Secretary:
Dr. W. Doug McKone
Phone: (250) 363-6366
Fax: (250) 363-6827
Internet: pices@ios.bc.ca
Chair of Governing Council:
Dr. William Doubleday
DFO Canada
Phone: (613) 990-0271
Vice Chair:
Dr. Hyung-Tack Huh
Director
Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute
The 1998 budget is CDN$ 521,000, with an annual contribution from each Party of CDN$ 84,800, the same level of contributions as in 1997. The United States will be assessed, on a one-time basis, up to 115 percent of the normal contribution level, in order to fund extraordinary expenses of hosting the Annual Meeting in 1998.
Appointment Process
The United States is represented on the PICES Governing Council by two delegates appointed by the Secretary of State in consultation with interested agencies and institutions: one from a major Federal government research agency and one from a research university or other academic institution. The United States is represented on the Scientific Committees and Working Groups created by the Governing Council by individuals appointed by the Secretary of State in consultation with interested agencies and institutions.
U.S. Delegates
Federal Government Representative:
Dr. James Balsiger, Director
Alaska Fisheries Science Center
NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service
7600 Sand Point Way, NE
Seattle, Washington 98115-0700
Phone: (206) 526-4000
Fax: (206) 526-4004
Academic Representative:
Dr. Vera Alexander, Dean
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska
245 O'Neill Bldg.,
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-6824
Fax: (907) 474-7204
Internet: vera@ims.alaska.edu
Working Groups
Currently active PICES Working Groups are:
WG8- Practical Assessment Methodology
WG10-Circulation and Ventilation in the Japan Sea (East Sea)
WG11-Consumption of Marine Resources by Marine Birds and Mammals WG12-Crabs and Shrimps
New Working Groups established at PICES VI:
WG13-Carbon Dioxide in the North Pacific
WG14-Effective sampling of micronekton to estimate ecosystem carrying capacity
Mission/Purpose:
The area which the activities of PICES concern is defined by the Convention as the temperate and sub-Arctic region of the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas, especially northward from 30 degrees North Latitude. Activities of the organization may, for scientific reasons, extend farther southward in the North Pacific Ocean.
The primary role of PICES is to coordinate research efforts undertaken by the Parties and to facilitate the exchange of scientific and technical information on a broad range of scientific disciplines. The organization provides an international forum to promote greater understanding of the biological and oceanographic processes of the North Pacific Ocean and its role in global environment.
Organizational Structure:
PICES is comprised of (1) a Governing Council, (2) a Science Board (3) such permanent or ad hoc scientific groups and committees as the Governing Council may from time to time establish and (4) a Secretariat. The Governing Council has both scientific and administrative functions.
The scientific functions of the Governing Council are to identify research priorities and problems pertaining to the Convention Area and appropriate methods for their solution; to recommend coordinated research programs and related activities pertaining to the Convention Area which shall be undertaken through the national efforts of the participating Contracting Parties; to promote and facilitate the exchange of scientific data, information and personnel; to consider requests to develop scientific advice pertaining to the Convention Area; to organize scientific symposia and other scientific events; and to foster the discussion of problems of mutual scientific interest.
The administrative functions of the Governing Council are to adopt and amend the Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations; to consider and recommend amendments to the Convention; to adopt the annual report of the organization; to examine and adopt the annual budget and financial accounts of the organization; to determine the location of the Secretariat; to appoint the Executive Secretary; to maintain contact with other international organizations; and to manage the activities of the organization.
Recent Activities:
PICES held its sixth annual meeting October 14-26, 1997, in Pusan, Republic of Korea. Among the major outcomes of this meeting was the reelection of the vice chair, Dr. Hyung-Tack Huh (Republic of Korea). The process for selecting the next Executive Secretary was approved and it was agreed that the position would be advertised as soon as possible via appropriate mechanisms in each country. Applications are due by June 1, 1998, and final candidates will be interviewed at the next Annual Meeting in October 1998. In order to ensure continuity at the PICES Secretariat, it was agreed to grant the current Assistant Executive Secretary, Dr. A. Bychkov, a one-year extension (until May 1999) to his current contract.
Intersessional meetings of note include the CCCC-IP MODEL (Conceptual/ Theoretical and Modeling Studies) Task Team workshop from March 4-6, 1998, in Tiburon, California to compare lower trophic level physiological process models. The Physical Oceanography and Climate Committee plans to hold the second Okhotsk Sea Workshop in Nemuro, Japan during November 1998.
The Marine Environmental Quality Committee's Jiaozhou Bay Workshop is now scheduled for the Spring of 1998. PICES will request approval from the appropriate authorities in China (Ministry of Agriculture and the State Oceanic Administration) for the Chinese Academy of Sciences to host the workshop at the Institute of Oceanology in Qingdao. If approval is not received from China by January 31, 1998, MEQ will accept an offer by the Republic of Korea to host the workshop. The Fisheries Committee's Working Group 12 (Crabs and Shrimps) plans to hold an inter-sessional meeting on the western side of the Pacific with the location to be determined.
The Council accepted the invitation of the United States to host the Sixth Annual Meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, from October 13-25, 1998. Scientific sessions to be convened at the seventh meeting include: 1) Controlling Factors for Lower Trophic Levels, 2) Carbon Dioxide in the North Pacific, 3) Decadal Variability of the North Pacific Climate, 4) Science and Technology for Environmentally Sustainable Mariculture, 5) Contaminants in High Trophic Level Biota, 6) Climate Change and Carrying Capacity of the North Pacific: Recent Findings of GLOBEC/GLOBEC-like programs in North Pacific.
NOAA Fisheries:
Mark Wildman, F/ST3
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Phone: (301) 713-2286
Fax: (301) 713-2313
Internet: Mark.Wildman@noaa.gov
Department of State:
Dorothy Bergamaschi
OES/OA, Room 5801
Washington, D.C. 20520-7818
Phone: 202-647-0240
Fax: 202-647-1106
Internet:dbergama@state.gov
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