Championing Ocean Diversity Introducing the SMARTNET Ocean Knowledge Network – Accessible, Diverse, and Solution-Oriented By Vera L. Trainer, Sonia Batten, Steven J. Bograd, Sanae Chiba, Erin V. Satterthwaite, Lori Waters (PICES), Jörn Schmidt, Ellen Johannesen, William Karp, Anne Christine Brusendorff (ICES) A s the Northern Hemisphere leaders of multi-national collaborations to further our understanding of the ocean’s natural systems, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) have worked together for decades on shared interests. The global ocean science community has a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring resources together and share knowledge more widely through the UN Ocean Decade to expand our collaborations beyond our member countries to countries in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Our well-established mechanisms for scientific cooperation will be used to further the development and delivery of “the science we need for the ocean we want”, specifically on under -standing the dynamics of coupled marine social, ecological and environmental systems under global change. A UN Ocean Decade program led by ICES and PICES, titled Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems through global knowledge Networks (SMARTNET), will support and encourage the establishment of joint working groups, workshops and symposia with partners in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Arctic. Different Oceans, Common Issues ICES and PICES are scientific organizations that interact and engage with an array of groups, from academia, policymakers, civil society, industry, and foundations. By bringing together 228 diverse networks, we foster the development of necessary skills to achieve broad marine science goals. SMARTNET will support and leverage ICES, PICES, and member countries’ priorities and initiatives related to the UN Ocean Decade, by emphasiz-ing areas of mutual research interest and policy needs. These include climate change; fisheries and ecosystem-based management; social, ecological and environmental dynamics of marine systems; coastal communities and human dimen-sions; and communication and capacity development. The ICES–PICES UN Ocean Decade Program will also incorporate strategies to facilitate the Decade’s cross-cutting inclusivity themes relating to equality and inclusion of all people, early career ocean professional (ECOP) engagement, and involve-ment of Indigenous communities and developing nations in the planning and implementation of joint activities. A key activity is the ICES/PICES Strategic Initiative on Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems (SICCME). Established in 2011, the initiative aims to study marine eco-system responses to climate change through modeling and coordinated process studies. Taking advantage of this revolu-tion in our ability to model the state of the ocean, improved fish forecasts, like weather forecasts of the sea, are a vision for the not-too-distant future: “And now for the fish forecast for 29 July 2035. An intrusion of warm water onto the continental shelf is bringing increased numbers of fish and more saline conditions. Passing schools of bluefin tuna are expected, with dense aggre -eco UN DECADE OF OCEAN SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT www.ecomagazine.com/subscribe
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