Gulf of Maine Regional Ocean Science Initiative (ROSI)

Recognizing the need for regional initiatives to support ecosystem-based management, a Gulf of Maine Regional Ocean Science Initiative was formed to identify pressing issues and research needs. The council adopted a Regional Ocean Science Plan (ROSP) that addresses stakeholder concerns, provides a strategic plan for funding and coordinating research and monitoring to address the region's issues, and transfer technology and information to decision makers and managers. Two research projects have been funded with long-term goals of minimizing impacts to fisheries by marine invaders and to marine mammals from rope entanglements.

Based on the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) provided funding to establish Regional Ocean Science Councils to support national initiatives focused on ecosystem-based in research. The Council will develop a Regional Ocean Science Plan (ROSP) that addresses stakeholder concerns, provides a strategic plan for funding and coordinating research and monitoring to address the region's issues, and transfer technology and information to decision makers and managers. The mission of the Council is to coordinate research and information exchange in the Gulf of Maine through development of a strategic research plan for implementing ecosystem-based management that encourages collaboration and coordination among stakeholders with the goal of preserving and providing for sustainable use of resources.

The Gulf of Maine Regional Ocean Science Council will identify research efforts to improve integrated, science-based, ecosystem-level management in the Gulf of Maine. This will include fostering cooperation between state, regional and national programs and identifying and developing relevant funding sources . The Council will focus on ensuring a sustainable Gulf of Maine ecosystem to support productive fisheries, tourism, and economic development for future generations.

A growing awareness of the interconnectedness of ecosystem functions and human activities has prompted new management approaches to ensure wise use and sustainability of coastal and ocean resources and services. We often take as a given that the sea will feed us, purify the air and water, support recreational uses, and be the recipient of our wastes without fully understanding how human and natural impacts alter the goods and services upon on which we depend.

Integrated ecosystem-level management implies a renewed commitment to balancing human activities with protection and conservation of natural systems and a growing awareness that some activities are not sustainable as they are currently practiced. Recent reports recommend development of Regional Ocean Science Councils to coordinate science-based actions that support integrated ecosystem-level management. Often data and information are not available to managers to answer the most basic questions (listed below) in ways that are useful to determine if individual or collective use will harm the environment.

(*) How do we define and determine a healthy regional ecosystem?
(*) What services do we think that the regional ecosystem provides, and how can we determine if our system will provide these services?
(*) Can we predict the ecosystem's response to disturbance and determine the impacts of natural and human disturbances?
(*) What information and tools are needed to manage the regional ecosystem?

Building on a history of regional coordination in research and management, the Northeast Sea Grant directors have created a Regional Ocean Science Council with a goal of developing a Regional Ocean Science Plan to support integrated ecosystem-level management. This plan will focus on the Gulf of Maine, a region that extends from the Canadian Maritime Provinces to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, building on two or more decades of scientific and management collaborative efforts. The approach and process of developing the science plan is transferable to other areas.