SCICOM and the new Steering Groups

SCICOM held several intensive meetings during the ASC in Berlin. One of the major highlights was the election of a new Chair for the period 2010 to 2012 (see New faces). SCICOM developed and approved the work programme for the ICES Science Programme, and more than 70 Expert Groups will meet in 2010. New science symposia were approved for cosponsorship, and a considerable number of the much-in-demand Cooperative Research Reports and TIMES was put on track for next year. SCICOM identified a number of strategic science issues, which will be dealt with by new initiatives on climate change, biodiversity, and coastal zone issues, including marine spatial planning. The SCICOM Steering Groups will develop some of these further. Their meetings focused on the ICES Science Plan and how Expert Groups can turn these issues into practice and deliverables.The Steering Groups will continue to provide the forum for the Expert Groups to meet and discuss at future ASCs, while interim work will concentrate on strategic issues involving the expertise from ICES groups. SCICOM also made progress on international cooperation with other organizations, research projects, partner commissions, and research funding agencies.
More information on SCICOM can be found at here.

New Chair of SSGHIE The new Chair (as of 1 October 2009) of SCICOM Steering Group on Human Interactions on Ecosystems (SSGHIE): Erik Olsen from IMR, Norway.