MARINE SCIENCE CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE UPDATE REPORT FROM THE WORKING GROUPS FOR PERIOD MARCH AUGUST 2014 CONTENTS SCIENCE ALIGNMENT...

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1 MARINE SCIENCE CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE UPDATE REPORT FROM THE WORKING GROUPS FOR PERIOD MARCH AUGUST 2014 CONTENTS SCIENCE ALIGNMENT Eco-system Models Alignment Sub Group Science Alignment Working Group International Group Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership... 2 DATA, MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT Marine Assessment and Reporting Group Marine Autonomous Systems Marine Environmental Data and Information Network UK Integrated Marine Observing Network Underwater Sound Forum... 6 ECONOMIC GROWTH Marine Industries Liaison Group... 7 COMMUNICATION Communication Working Group... 7 SCIENCE ALIGNMENT 1.1 Eco-system Models Alignment Sub Group 1. Cefas and St Andrews led a joint Marine Science Co-ordination Committee (MSCC) / Marine Alliance for Science and Technology in Scotland ecosystem modelling workshop in May. The workshop brought together advisors, assessors, biologists, socio-economists, modellers, policy makers, and funders, building a shared understanding and improving communication across the areas. A roadmap for the development of UK ecosystem modelling has been produced based on the outputs from the workshop including ideas for quick wins, model development, and 1

2 linking natural and social systems that will shape the future of ecosystem modelling in the UK. Actions and a delivery plan have been developed for the period to March A presentation on this topic will be given at the September MSCC meeting. 1.2 Science Alignment Working Group 2. The outcomes from the horizon scanning exercise undertaken by this group will be presented at the meeting. 1.3 International Group 3. The group has convened twice in 2014, once by telecom, and once at Defra in June. Secretariat support is now provided by the International and Strategic Partnership Office (NOC). 4. Members have agreed to widen the membership of the Working Group, and will approach colleagues in BIS, DfiD, Research Councils UK, Met Office and FCO accordingly, and to also work in a more collaborative way in respect of delegations to UK - sharing information and expertise. Members also agreed to the merging of the mailing lists of the International Group and the UK Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. 5. Members are currently undertaking a horizon scanning exercise to consider each of the three key strategic priorities of the UK marine science strategy and UK activity in international engagement. 1.4 Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership 6. Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) special topics on climate change and i) marine protected area (MPA) sites, ii) MPA networks and iii) achieving good environmental status for marine biodiversity are in progress. The expectation is that we will launch before the end of this financial year and include separate peer review papers and a summary card. 7. As part of the National Adaptation Programme, there is an action on Seafish (as the body representing the seafood industry) to produce an adaptation report looking at how the UK seafood industry will be affected by climate change. MCCIP is supporting this work, which will be completed middle of next year. Following publication a more accessible summary will be produced for industry stakeholders. 8. MCCIP mid-term review and phase III business plan. An independent consultancy undertook a review of MCCIP as a key part of the phase II work. Following its publication, we are now developing an action plan which will help inform the development of the next 5 year [phase III] programme, due to start at the beginning of the next financial year. 2

3 DATA, MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2.1 Marine Assessment and Reporting Group Reporting lines for smaller working groups dealing with monitoring 9. It was agreed that it would be more appropriate for some of the smaller MSCC working groups dealing with monitoring (e.g. UK Integrated Marine Observing Network (UK-IMON), Research Vessels Working Group, Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN)) to report to Marine Assessment and Reporting Group (MARG), rather than directly to MSCC to enable more in depth discussion of issues. Publication of the MSFD Marine Strategy Part 2 and the associated Government response 10. The public consultation on the proposed MSFD monitoring programmes, which the UK Marine Monitoring Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS) helped to elaborate, finished on 2nd April 2014, and experts in the relevant evidence groups provided answers to many of the technical questions raised in the 66 responses to the consultation. The resulting UK Marine Strategy Part 2 and the associated Government response were published on 5 th August Filling in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Article 11 reporting sheets on UK Marine Monitoring programmes and addressing the data reporting requirements of the MSFD 11. The experts in the evidence groups are playing a key role in filling in the technical sub-programme questions in the reporting sheets on the details of the monitoring programmes (e.g. parameters, spatial and temporal aspects, QC AQC and access to data) that need to be sent to the Commission by October A key issue raised by the exercise is the need to upgrade MEDIN and United Kingdom Directory of the Marine-Observing Systems (UKDMOS) functionality so that the detailed information and data they contain can be more easily made available and referenced for such reporting purposes. Lack of research funding to developing several biodiversity indicators for MSFD monitoring programmes 12. MARG was informed that further research is still needed to properly develop 7 of the indicators that will need to be monitored to show we are meeting the targets 1 Government Response: 3

4 set for achieving Good Environmental Status for species, habitats and food webs. The MSFD Biodiversity Indicators R&D Funders Group had not been able to immediately identify the necessary funding, and MARG called for further efforts and thinking to address this research gap. The Healthy Biologically Diverse Seas Evidence Group (HBDSEG) will present a paper at the next MARG meeting on risks and priorities of the work that was not funded by the MSFD Biodiversity Indicators R&D Funders Group. Going forward, HBDSEG have agreed to present research priorities to MARG in the autumn, to enable MARG to prioritise HBDSEG s recommendations against other evidence requirements. Plans for making MSFD monitoring operational, and laying the ground for the OSPAR 2017 Intermediate assessment, and the UK 2018 updated MSFD Initial assessment 13. MARG agreed that although 2017 seems a long way off, planning for the major assessments required for 2017 needed to start this autumn. One consideration was how the 2017 assessments should link up with, or be a continuation of Charting progress 2. Refresh of the Ocean Processes Evidence Group 14. MARG examined and endorsed a progress report from the task group set up by MSCC to prepare proposals for a refresh of the Ocean Processes Evidence Group (OPEG). This provided a more detailed analysis of the various national and European activities and groups involved in delivering the 3 evidence outcomes which OPEG needs to address. A further meeting or teleconference is still needed to finalise this work, but due to the holiday period, and staff shortages this is still pending. The aim is to finalise this work and complete the refresh process before the MARG meeting in November. Impacts of decreasing resources 15. The need for a monitoring skills base was recognised as monitoring expertise from organisations is lost due to cuts in funding. 16. Funding for the National Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control Scheme (NMBAQC) 2 was currently insufficient, and unless other organisations were able to help, the technical secretariat at Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science will have to be disbanded in December Marine Autonomous Systems 17. The new European Network of Marine Research Institutes and Stations (MARS) Innovation Centre is currently under construction at National Oceanographic Centre (NOC), which will conclude the spend of 10M of marine autonomous 2 The NMBAQC Scheme was established to monitor marine biological data quality standards for benthic faunal studies 4

5 systems (MAS) capital invested as part of the Eight Great Technologies in As a result of this capital, the MARS fleet now comprises 40 MAS platforms that are available to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) community, and potentially to other partners. 18. In October 2014 the largest multi-platform MAS deployment in UK waters will take place, providing an opportunity to share expertise in deployment, operation and data collection of new unmanned surface vehicles and submarine gliders. Partners include NOC, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, UK Met Office, Dstl, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and several UK universities and MAS supply companies. 19. A new forum for co-operation between users of MAS will be initiated at NOC in late November The 'MAS Operators Workshop' will allow public sector MAS operators (including science, policy and defence users), to better forward plan their sharing of resources and expertise. It will be combined with a one-day showcase event, highlighting the enhanced capabilities of the NERC MAS fleet, and specialist workshops looking at specific issues, e.g. legal requirements for MAS deployments, use of MAS for Defra monitoring. 2.3 Marine Environmental Data and Information Network 20. The final version of the new Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Business Plan for is available from the MEDIN web-site ( and includes a response to recommendations of the 2013 MEDIN review. The MEDIN Annual Report is being finalised and the Data Archive Centre (DAC) Report has been completed. 21. MEDIN Sponsors are in the process of signing new MEDIN Sponsorship Agreements linked to the above MEDIN Business Plan. Commitment to funding is part of this process. The Environment Agency is currently unable to sponsor MEDIN. 22. Dr David Cotton, MEDIN Coordinator, resigned in May and recruitment for a replacement is underway. 23. MEDIN currently has seven accredited DACs; the first four DACs to be accredited (British Geological Survey, British Oceanographic Data Centre, Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data (DASSH), UK Hydrographic Office) are undergoing re-accreditation. The DACs, in collaboration with The Crown Estate (TCE), are a scoping a pilot study to develop a mechanism for archiving the Renewables Round 3 data currently held in TCE s Marine Data Exchange system. 24. As part of MEDIN s contribution to MARG, the UK Directory of Marine Observing Systems (UKDMOS) software was upgraded to allow selection/extraction of monitoring programme information according to MSFD Descriptor, Criteria and Indicator. Further functionality, requested by Marine Scotland, to provide a Web Map Service and searching across MSFD sub-regions is being added. 5

6 25. Web pages have been published which provide view and download access to the 109 reference data layers assembled by the Defra funded Marine Protected Areas - Gathering/developing and accessing the data for the planning of a network of Marine Conservation Zones project. 2.4 UK Integrated Marine Observing Network 26. Defra, Cefas and the Chairs of UK Integrated Marine Observing Network (UK- IMON) and the Ocean Processes Evidence Group agreed that selected nonstatutory data and information from UK-IMON partners should be used for the next periodic assessment of prevailing conditions with a particular focus on temperature, salinity and acidification parameters. It was also agreed that during the work any additional information should be collected to determine: the usability of data for assessments; the availability of data for assessments and; any opportunities to increase efficiency in collecting or using data for assessments. Progress on this task will be reported to MSCC in March Five implementation studies have been carried out and the UK-IMON International Workshop has taken place (the workshop report was presented to MSCC in March 2014). These activities supported UK policy requirement either directly (e.g. work on a potentially new Good Environmental Status indicator for food webs) or indirectly (e.g. promoting the use of MEDIN standards and protocols for data management). The studies required collaboration and coordination of UK partners meeting a high level requirement of the strategy to promote more coordinated working and greater alignment. The studies benefit the UK Marine Science Strategy in several ways, e.g. alignment of effort between government departments and NERC in gathering marine data, improving access to data and developing strategies to make best use of resources. Highlights of the outcomes from the studies, particularly in relation to policy and general benefits for the UK Marine Science Strategy, are available on request. 2.5 Underwater Sound Forum 28. At its meeting in April, the Underwater Sound Forum (USF) discussed a number of topics including the setting up of an Ambient Noise Database Correspondence Group, progress on the UK Marine Strategy Framework Directive s GES 11 Noise Register, an update on recent marine mammal strandings, and first steps on the production of a successor to the 2006 USF report. 29. Developments in international standards and guidance notes are an important aspect of the work of the USF and the group learned about work underway on a UK Good Practise Guide on Underwater Noise Measurement, and the establishment of an ISO Working Group on Underwater Acoustics. The Ministry of Defence presented an update on safe disposal of unexploded munitions in the Cape Wrath firing range. 6

7 30. The Forum also received presentations on the behavioural response of cetaceans to controlled sound exposure experiments, developments in passive acoustic monitoring using autonomous vehicles, and the passive acoustic monitoring of harbour porpoises. 31. As a resource for the sharing of ideas, news and technological developments the USF has excellent support from a broad user community, with consistently high attendance figures, and no actions are required by MSCC members as a consequence of this meeting. ECONOMIC GROWTH 3.1 Marine Industries Liaison Group 32. The main focus for Marine Industries Liaison Group (MILG) has been horizon scanning. One of the main recommendations from the Government-industry needs and capability study was for MILG to undertake a horizon scanning programme to match science needs with UK economic growth and commercial opportunities, part of this recommendation would consider future scientific and technical needs, arising from new marine developments and industries. Horizon scanning was formally viewed in MILG October 2013 where a general overview was given and a more focused discussion in the form of a workshop took place in the February 2014 MILG meeting. It was agreed that the next steps would be to seek views from the wider industry community on their vision (20 years), and the constraints and gaps in the science required. A series of questions were drafted and discussed using a small group of MILG members (focus group) and a pilot study was conducted to see how the questionnaire would be received. The results of the pilot study did not highlight any new areas that were not already identified from the Government-industry needs and capability study and the MILG workshop in February It was decided it would be a better use of resources and time to work with some of the key areas identified to date that are most relevant to industry. These key areas are: Cumulative impacts Deep sea mining Carbon capture and storage Decommissioning Sea bed mapping 33. A summary paper is been produced for the next MILG meeting 9 September 2014 to highlight the current position in these key areas identified and decide what the next steps will be in each of the key themes. MILG are planning to hold a horizon scanning event in the future. COMMUNICATION 4.1 Communication Working Group 7

8 34. Dr Tavis Potts and Kelvin Boot have recently been appointed by the Communication Working Group to the roles of Chair and Deputy Chair respectively. At its meeting in July, Members undertook a horizon scanning exercise and agreed a number of objectives in respect of the three key scientific priorities of the UK marine Science Strategy. The outcomes from this exercise will be presented at the MSCC meeting. 8