At the 95th Statutory Meeting of the ICES Council, Mike Sinclair was elected President for a three-year term to succeed Joe Horwood.

Mike has been the Director of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the past decade, as well as the Regional Director of Science for the Maritimes Region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which included responsibility for the management of the St Andrews Biological Station in New Brunswick. His research interests have included phytoplankton ecology of estuaries, population dynamics of Atlantic herring, history of ideas in marine science, and strategies for the implementation of the ecosystem approach to management of fisheries. Mike has been active in ICES since the early 1980s. He was introduced to the functioning of ICES as Chair of the Biological Oceanography Committee in the mid-1980s. Flowing from interest in the history of ICES, he co-chaired a series of popular “history dinners” at several annual science conferences in the 1990s.

Stimulated by the collapse of cod off Atlantic Canadian coast in the mid-1990s, he co-chaired theme sessions involving socio-economics at a couple of Annual Science Conferences, with the expectation that broad interdisciplinary studies might lead to enhanced understanding and improvement of fishery management systems. He has been a Canadian Delegate since 1987. As First Vice-President, he recently chaired the Bureau Working groups tasked with preparing the Science Strategic Plan, and the restructuring of the science governance within ICES.

Following his election at the 2009 October Council meeting, Mike thanked Joe Horwood for the fine leadership he provided during his three years in office. Several fundamental changes have been put in place during Joe’s term, including the 2008–2012 Strategic Plan, a significant reform of the advisory structure resulting in a broader mandate, and a restructuring of the Science Committee with national representation and enhanced flexibility. Mike stated that the coming three years will be equally challenging for the Council and the ICES community. A high priority is the implementation of the ambitious Science Strategic Plan, including the articulation of the specific ICES niche in support of the advisory needs for a wide range of emerging societal issues. This will require enhanced engagement of the ICES Delegates, in particular to provide support for the broad range of science expertise that is required.

Mike was very impressed by the participation of bright young (and older!) scientists with new ideas and enthusiasm at the 2009 Annual Science Conference in Berlin. There was an exciting buzz in the Estrel Convention Centre in Berlin throughout the week, with excellent presentations and animated discussions. The broad scope of the programme, and the high quality of the presentations, bodes well for ICES in the coming years.