PROTECTED RESOURCES AND CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOP

Abstract

On July 16-17, 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Regional Office (now called the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office) brought together scientists and fisheries managers to explore methods to effectively integrate climate change science into management activities within the Northeast Region’s Protected Resources Division (PRD). PRD works to manage, conserve, and rebuild species in marine and anadromous waters from Maine to North Carolina. Managers across NMFS are faced with questions on how to best integrate climate change science into their management actions. The workshop focused on bringing together many of the NOAA line offices to exchange information on ongoing and planned climate change research and climate change effects on protected species. NOAA line offices and other federal management agencies also described the status of regional and national efforts to incorporate climate change into natural resources management. Focused discussions were utilized to meet the objectives of: (1) identifying trends and projections for climate change in the Northeast Region (through Cape Hatteras, NC) and outside this area, as appropriate; (2) reviewing projects in which climate science has been incorporated into natural resources management decisions to assist PRD’s future consideration of climate change in management; and (3) identifying ways to utilize the best available climate change data in management decisions, including barriers that may hinder such an effort.