Facilitating research in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary : summary of the 2010 Workshop to Inform the ecosystem-based management initiative

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) has embarked upon a new initiative to improve ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the sanctuary by applying best available science and integrating and coordinating with partner agencies and stakeholders. The EBM Initiative has four primary goals: Maintain and/or restore marine ecosystem health, services and function; Ensure protection of unique and rare features; Facilitate research to differentiate between natural variation and human impacts; Facilitate ecologically and economically sustainable uses, including fisheries. By working collaboratively with partner agencies and stakeholders, information related to these four goals has been and will continue to be gathered and evaluated to identify and implement actions to improve ecosystem-based management in the sanctuary. To address the EBM Initiative goal of facilitating research, MBNMS staff convened a workshop on October 26th, 2010. The purpose of this workshop was to review existing spatial management, determine how it affects marine science, and discuss what kinds of strategies, if any, could facilitate science that supports ecosystem-based management of MBNMS. For this workshop, existing spatial management was discussed primarily in the context of marine regulated areas. The workshop was attended by 23 members of the regional research community, three fishermen who are collaborative vessel operators during research cruises, three members of the MBNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council's Ecosystem-based Management Subcommittee, four members of the public and 14 sanctuary program staff