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Gulf of Maine Symposium in Saint Andrews-by-the-Sea, Plenary Sessions held Oct. 6-9, 2009

Census of Marine Life -- Gulf of Maine as co-sponsor

Monday, October 5, 2009 (St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada): Two hundred leading marine scientists, managers and policy makers from the US and Canada have come together in Saint Andrews-by-the-Sea to further their collective knowledge about one of world's most productive marine ecosystems, the Gulf of Maine.

Plenary sessions for the Gulf of Maine Symposium— Advancing Ecosystem Research for the Future of the Gulf will be held October 6th through 9th at the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews to discuss the diverse and highly productive body of water known as the Gulf of Maine. The Gulf of Maine, called "a sea within the sea," extends from the eastern tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. Several well-known bays, such as the Bay of Fundy, Casco Bay and Massachusetts Bay are part of the larger Gulf of Maine system. The Gulf of Maine watershed – or land area whose streams and rivers are interconnected to the larger marine system – includes the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and the New England States of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

As an international body of water, the goal of the symposium is to synthesize and advance the ecosystem research on both sides of the border to support its future management. The symposium program will inform participants about current objectives, constraints, and future influences on management of marine resources, share new developments in scientific knowledge in the Gulf of Maine, and identify scientific directions to meet future needs from an ecosystem-based approach.

Long-term sustainability of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem – a vital resource for the region – depends on the integration of knowledge on these four themes:

1. Tools for integrated policy and management (Tuesday, Oct.6)
2. Structure and function of the Gulf of Maine System (Wednesday, Oct. 7)
3. Anthropogenic and external influences on the Gulf of Maine ecosystem (Thurs., Oct. 8)
4. Monitoring /observation, data collection, analyses, and tools required for an Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM) of the Gulf of Maine (Thursday, October 8)

The Symposium synthesis and wrap-up will be held Friday morning, October 9. More information on the symposium may be obtained at http://www.rargom.org/Symposium2009.

Members of the media are invited to attend sessions at their convenience. We ask that you check in at the main registration desk to obtain a media pass. For further information or to arrange interviews, please feel free to contact:

Media Contacts:

Susan Ryan
Gulf of Maine Area - Census of Marine Life
sryan@usm.maine.edu, 207-233-9740

Lynn Rutter, Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine
Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea
lynn.rutter@unh.edu, 603-479-1731

Co-conveners:

Dr. John Annala
Chair
Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine
www.rargom.org

Dr. Rob Stephenson,
Research Scientist
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Dr. Lewis Incze, Chief Scientist
Gulf of Maine Census of Marine Life
University of Southern Maine
www.coml.org

Sponsored by the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine, and;
Census of Marine Life – Gulf of Maine Area
Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Gulf of Maine Research Institute

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