PISCO Policy Workshops
outreach and training workshops
- International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC), 'making science matter'
- Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, 5-Year Evaluation Workshops
- Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, West Coast Observatory Buoys Data Sharing Workshop
International marine conservation congress (IMCC), 'making science matter'
In 2009, PISCO presented a workshop at the IMCC, this workshop addresses a major theme and two cross-cutting issues of the SCB Marine Section conference: ecosystem-based management, marine protected areas, and capacity-building. This workshop proposes to address these crucial issues of MPA monitoring in two ways: by focusing on the need and priorities of research and management and by encouraging a long-term capacity-building dialogue that bridges the gap between scientists and managers. This workshop will result in an established network of conservation professionals for future discussion and problem-solving, with communication via internet, as well as a possible future paper on proceedings and results. This workshop may also serve as the first installment in a series of workshops and/or symposia at future SCB and Marine Section conferences.
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
5-Year Evaluation Workshops
In 2008, PISCO co-hosted three workshops dedicated to analyzing monitoring data for the 5-year evaluation of the Channel Islands (CI) Marine Reserve network. These workshops were co-hosted with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the California Department of Fish and Game. The purpose of these workshops was to analyze data gathered from the first 5 years of monitoring the CI marine protected areas and create presentations for a public symposium and booklet in the style of ‘The Science of Marine Reserves’. In December, the California Fish and Game Commission conducted its mandated 5-year review of the CI marine protected areas to evaluate the effectiveness of the Channel Islands marine protected areas. The results from the evaluation will inform future decisions made by the Commission under California's Marine Life Protection Act. A successful 5-year review depends heavily on the information gathered by PISCO scientists. In February 2008, the Channel Islands marine reserve 5 year evaluation was completed and presented at a special session, “Special Session: The First Five Years of Monitoring Marine Protected Areas in California’s Channel Islands,” associated with the California Islands Symposium.
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
West Coast Observatory Buoys Data Sharing Workshop
In 2007 PISCO hosted a data upload workshop for the Physical Oceanography team at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab as part of the PISCO-ONMS collaboration. The purpose of this workshop was to better integrate Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) with standardized data processing and archival methods with the rest of the PISCO and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) along the west coast. PISCO assisted OCNMS staff in loading over 500 moored temperature data files during the workshop, which have now been replicated across the PISCO data network and to both the National Coastal Data Development Center and the National Oceanographic Data Center databases. To align OCNMS physical oceanographic data management with the rest of west coast NMS and PISCO protocols, OCNMS closely collaborates with PISCO staff.