Working Group 44: Joint PICES/ICES Working Group on Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for the Northern Bering Sea - Chukchi Sea (NBS-CS)
Background and Motivations
This proposal is the result of W17 “Scoping an IEA of the Northern Bering-Chukchi Seas Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)”, held October 16, 2019. The workshop was chaired by Libby Logerwell (USA), Kirstin Holsman (USA), Raychelle Daniel (USA, The Pew Charitable Trusts) and Yutaka Watanuki (Japan). There were 19 attendees representing PICES member nations (USA, Japan, Russia, China and Canada), partner organizations (ICES and IASC), funding agencies (North Pacific Research Board), international collaborators (IMR Norway) and Indigenous organizations (Bering Sea Elders Group). Plenary and breakout group discussions accomplished an effective scoping of an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of the Northern Bering Sea – Chukchi Sea LME. The scoping entailed:
  • Review of recent research, scope of Indigenous Knowledge available, activities and priorities related to an IEA of Arctic Ecosystems
  • Review of the scientific interest, community interest, data availability and overall feasibility of conducting such an IEA for the Northern Bering-Chukchi Sea region
  • Assessment of the opportunities to partner with other organizations to address the issues identified above
The participants of the workshop unanimously agreed to pursue a new Working Group to conduct an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of the Northern Bering Sea – Chukchi Sea (NBS-CS) LME. In particular, participants from WG39 (WGICA) on the Central Arctic Ocean, PAME, and ICES, noted that:
  • A PICES WG on the Northern Bering-Chukchi Sea region would provide detailed assessment of the Pacific Arctic gateway, and would be a complement to the Atlantic gateways IEAs supported through ICES, all of which are linked through the PICES Central Arctic Ocean WG
  • It would also provide detailed information that will inform understanding of connectivity of climate and ocean processes, species movements, shelf foodweb dynamics, fishing, trade, subsistence and food security, and human activities beyond the focal scope of WG39/WGICA but of critical importance to the CAO (and therefore identified as a needed component of future analyses).
  • In turn a PICES WG on the NBS-CS would be informed by the findings of WG39/WGICA beyond the scope of the new WG but of increasing importance, especially for the NBS where multiple Pacific stocks are increasingly redistributing poleward under warming conditions.
Why now?
The Northern Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea (NBS-CS) region is experiencing unprecedented ocean warming and loss of sea ice as a result of climate change. Seasonal sea ice declines and warming temperatures have been more prominent in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas as almost all other portions of the Arctic. Chronic and sudden changes in climate conditions in this Arctic gateway are increasingly impacting marine species and food-webs and expanding opportunities for commercial activities (shipping, oil and gas development and fishing), with uncertain and potentially wide-spread cumulative impacts. There are strong concerns about the impacts of climate change and industrial activities, and these impacts may be particularly pronounced in Arctic indigenous communities dependent on the health and stability of the ecosystem. The combination of unprecedented, rapid change and increased interest in the Arctic in general and the NBS-CS specifically make this an opportune time for a synthesis of issues and knowledge. An Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) can accomplish this synthesis.

Terms of Reference
  1. Convene an interdisciplinary and international working group membership
  2. Include Arctic peoples and Indigenous Knowledge systems
  3. Identify and consult with partners and institutions
Expected Deliverables
Year 1 Deliverables:
  • Inventory of metadata, knowledge, institutions and programs relevant to the Northern Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea LME. PICES or ICES Report. Web-based repository.
Year 2 Deliverables:
  • Ecosystem description from both Indigenous world views and science (shared conceptual models), indicators and hypotheses. PICES or ICES Report. Contribution to Arctic Report Card and or ecosystem status report.
  • Report on Ecological Objectives (co-produced with PAME).
  • Report on Ecological Values Workshop (co-produced with PAME).
Year 3 Deliverables:
  • Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for the Northern Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea LME. PICES or ICES Report. Contribution to NPESR. PAME-AMAP-CAFF Report. Contribution to Arctic Report Card.
  • Journal articles
  • Outreach activities
  • Knowledge Gap and Next Steps Report. PICES or ICES Report.
Products
Annual Meetings

Reports

2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

Session and Workshop Summaries

PICES-2019:
S8, Creating more effective Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) in PICES countries
W17, IEA of the Northern Bering-Chukchi Seas LME

Inter-sessional Meetings

April 2021 (meeting, presentation)

Peer-reviewed Papers
Kodryan K.V., Kivva K.K., Zubarevich V.L., Pedchenko A.P. (2023)
Water masses in the western Chukchi Sea in August 2019 and their hydrochemical features.
Oceanology, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 314–324
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023020078
Related Materials
WG-44 Detailed Information
News
  • Changes within Working Group 44 Membership (USA) Dr. Jamal Moss is a new member of WG-44.
    8/5/2022 2:31:48 PM PST
  • Changes within Working Group 44 Membership (Japan) Dr. Kohei Matsuno is a newly appointed member of the WG-44.
    12/22/2020 11:23:10 AM PST
  • Changes within Working Group 44 Membership (Canada) Dr. Nadja Stefanie Steiner is a newly appointed member of WG-44.
    10/26/2020 10:37:36 AM PST
  • Changes within Working Group 44 Membership (Russia) Drs. Yuri Zuenko (WG-44 Co-Chair), Aleksei Somov, and Kirill Kivva are new Members of WG-44 representing Russia.
    8/24/2020 8:30:37 AM PST
  • Changes within Working Group 44 Membership (Canada) Dr. Andrea Niemi is a new member of the WG-44 representing Canada.
    7/27/2020 12:54:59 PM PST
Members
Dr. Andrea Niemi (WG-44)
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
501 University Crescent
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3T 2N6
1-431-335-4826
Andrea.Niemi@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Dr. Nadja Stefanie Steiner (AP-ARC, WG-44)
AP-ARC Co-Chair
Institute of Ocean Sciences
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
9860 W Saanich Rd
Sidney, BC
Canada V8L 5T5
(1-250) 363-6402
nadja.steiner@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Dr. Takafumi Hirata (AP-ARC, WG-44)
Arctic Research Center
Hokkaido University
N21W11 Kita-ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido
Japan 001-0021
+81 -(0)11-706-9633
tahi@arc.hokudai.ac.jp
Dr. Kohei Matsuno (AP-ARC, WG-44)
Faculty of Fisheries Sciences
Hokkaido University
3-1-1 Minatomachi
Hakodate, Hokkaido
Japan 041-8611
(81-138) 40-5541
(81-138) 40-5541
k.matsuno@fish.hokudai.ac.jp
Dr. Shigeto Nishino (AP-ARC, WG-44)
Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Change Research (IACE)
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
2-15 Natsushima-cho
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Japan 237-0061
(81-46) 867-9487
(81-46) 867-9437
nishinos@jamstec.go.jp
Dr. Yutaka Watanuki (S-MBM, WG-44)
Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences
Hokkaido University
3-1-1 Minato-cho
Hakodate, Hokkaido
Japan 040-8611
(81-138) 46-8862
(81-138) 46-8863
ywata@fish.hokudai.ac.jp
Dr. Zhongyong Gao (CC-S, WG-44)
Key Laboratory of Global Change and Marine-Atmospheric Chemistry
Third Institute of Oceanography, MNR
178 Daxue Rd., Siming District
Xiamen, Fujian
People's Republic of China 361005
(86-592) 219 5121
(86-592) 219 5982
GAO@tio.org.cn
Mr. Qi Shu (WG-44)
First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources
No.6 Xian-Xia-Ling Road, Hi-Tech Industry Park
Qingdao, Shandong
People's Republic of China 266061
8653288961876
shuqi@fio.org.cn
Prof. Changan Xu (WG-44)
Third Institute of Oceanography, MNR
178 Daxue Rd., Siming District
Xiamen, People's Republic of China 361005
0086-592-2195527
xuchangan@tio.org.cn
Dr. Hyoung Sul La (WG-44)
Korea Polar Research Institute
Songdomirae-ro 26
Incheon, Republic of Korea 21990
+82-32-760-5810
hsla@kopri.re.kr
Dr. Kirill Kivva (WG-44)
Climate and Aquatic Ecosystems Dynamics
Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO)
19, Okruzhnoy proezd
Moscow, Russia 105187
+74992649387
+74993690381
kirill.kivva@gmail.com
Mr. Aleksei Somov (WG-44)
Laboratory for the Study of the Marine Life Period of Pacific Salmon
Pacific branch of Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography «VNIRO» («TINRO»)
4 Shevchenko alley
Vladivostok, Primorsky region
Russia 690091
+7(423) 240- 15- 04
alekseysomoff@gmail.com
Dr. Yury I. Zuenko (CREAMS-AP, POC, S-CCME, WG-44)
WG-44 Co-Chair
Fisheries Oceanography
Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Pacific branch (TINRO)
4 Shevchenko Alley
Vladivostok, Russia 690091
(7-423) 2604-530
(7-423) 2300-752
zuenko_yury@hotmail.com
Dr. Matthew Baker (WG-44, WG-53)
North Pacific Research Board (NPRB)
1007 West Third Ave., Suite 100
Anchorage, AK
U.S.A. 99501
907-644-6713
Matthew.Baker@nprb.org
Dr. Lee W Cooper (WG-44)
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
146 Williams St. PO Box 38
SOLOMONS, MD
U.S.A. 20688
4103267359
cooper@umces.edu
Ms. Raychelle Daniel (WG-44)
The Pew Charitable Trusts
901 E St NW
Washington, DC
U.S.A. 20004
2068227092
Raychelle.G.Daniel@ostp.eop.gov
Dr. Lisa B. Eisner (WG-44)
TSMRI/Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA
U.S.A. 98115
1-907-321-3398
lisa.eisner@noaa.gov
Dr. Megan Ferguson (WG-44)
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA
U.S.A. 98115-6349
(1-206) 526-6274
megan.ferguson@noaa.gov
Dr. Kirstin Kari Holsman (AP-UNDOS, S-CCME, WG-44)
S-CCME Co-Chair
AFSC
NOAA Fisheries
7600 Sand Point Way NE, Bldg. 4
Seattle, WA
U.S.A. 98115
(206)526-4691
kirstin.holsman@noaa.gov
Dr. Henry P. Huntington (WG-44)
Ocean Conservancy
23834 The Clearing Dr.
Eagle River, AK
U.S.A. 99577
(1-907) 2014590
henryphuntington@gmail.com
Dr. Katrin Iken (WG-44)
College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska Fairbanks
2150 Koyukuk Drive
Fairbanks , AK
U.S.A. 99775
(1-907) 474-5192
kbiken@alaska.edu
Ms. Mellisa Maktuayaq Johnson (WG-44)
Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium
821 N Street, Suite 103, Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Anchorage, AK
U.S.A. 99501
(907) 279-6519 Ext 4
mellisa@ayktc.org
Dr. Kathy Kuletz (WG-44)
Migratory Bird Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1011 E. Tudor Rd.
Anchorage, AK
U.S.A. 99503
907-830-5378
kathy_kuletz@fws.gov
Dr. Elizabeth A. Logerwell (FIS, WG-44)
WG-44 Co-Chair
Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA
U.S.A. 98115-6349
(1-206) 526-4231
(1-206) 526-6723
Libby.Logerwell@noaa.gov
Dr. Jamal Moss (WG-44)
3261 Nowell Ave.
Juneau, Alaska
U.S.A. 99801
(1-907) 789-6609
jamal.moss@noaa.gov
Dr. Diana Lynn Stram (WG-44)
North Pacific Fishery Management Council
1007 West 3rd Ave. Suite 400
Anchorage, AK
U.S.A. 99501
(1-907) 271-2806
(1-907) 271-2817
diana.stram@noaa.gov
Dr. Sarah Pence Wise (HD, WG-44)
Economics and Social Science Program
NMFS, Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Bldg. 4, 7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA
U.S.A. 98115
206-526-4172
sarah.wise@noaa.gov