2025 Inter-sessional Science Board Meeting – Notes from the Science Board Chair

Abstract

PICES holds an Inter-Sessional Science Board (ISB) meeting each year during the first half of the year, providing the Science Board with an opportunity to review scientific activities mid-term. ISB-2025 took place virtually via Zoom from May 7-9, 2025, one month before the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) and the United Nations Conference on the Ocean (UNOC3).

PICES holds an Inter-Sessional Science Board (ISB) meeting each year during the first half of the year, providing the Science Board with an opportunity to review scientific activities mid-term. ISB-2025 took place virtually via Zoom from May 7-9, 2025, one month before the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) and the United Nations Conference on the Ocean (UNOC3).

One of the primary purposes of the 1SB-2025 meeting was to review the activities and progress of the PICES's committees and two programs: FUTURE (Forecasting and Understanding Trends, Uncertainty, and Responses of North Pacific Marine Ecosystems) and SmartNet (Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems Through Global Knowledge Networks). The FUTURE Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) reported on the progress of their synthesis paper, "On the Development of an Interdisciplinary International Science Program to Advance Ocean Sustainability: The PICES FUTURE Program," which they submitted to the ICES Journal of Marine Science. According to the editor's comments, the article's category was changed to "Quo Vadimus" instead of "Original Article." During the last annual meeting, FUTURE held the "FUTURE Symposium" to celebrate its contributions to PICES and the North Pacific marine science community. Since FUTURE is concluding its third phase (2021-2025), the SSC presented their transition plans for the period leading up to PICES-2026. These plans include preparing a final report, providing guidance for the next PICES Science Program, and overseeing expert groups such as the Working Group on Climate Extremes and Coastal Impacts in the Pacific (WG 49), the Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) Advisory Panel (AP-ECOP), and the Science Communications Advisory Panel (AP-SciCom). The SSC also emphasized the importance of engaging ECOP members in the wrap-up process. For more details on FUTURE activities, see page 24 in this issue.

SmartNet is a joint ICES-PICES network initiative under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science (UNDOS), facilitated by the Advisory Panel on United Nations Decade of Ocean Science (AP-UNDOS), and has contributed to papers on the climate-biodiversity-fisheries nexus and knowledge sharing in small island developing states (SIDS). SmartNet has also conducted "The Ocean We Want" surveys in eight countries, including Japan, the United States, and Indonesia. The first paper based on Indonesian data has been published (see Purnomo et al. 2025). SmartNet scientists participated in OOSC, which is designed to align with the UNDOS. The overarching goal is to aid decisionmaking and the global discussions and negotiations scheduled for the upcoming UNOC3. SmartNet scientists organized or co-sponsored several workshops, including ones on climate-ready fisheries management, indigenous co-design, and evaluation approaches for ocean policy.

The activities of the PICES expert groups are at the core of PICES's scientific endeavors. Science Board also reviewed two new Expert Group proposals. The first is the PICES/ ICES Joint Working Group on Best Practices for Using Deep Learning in Progressing Plankton Images. This working group will enhance the consistency of plankton image processing by integrating deep learning into plankton research in a standardized and transparent manner. It will also enable comparisons between different regions and contribute to a broader understanding of ocean health and the impact of climate change. This working group's outcomes will lay the groundwork for future advancements in Al-driven marine monitoring and ecosystem-based management. The Science Board commented that this new expert group should consider the data-sharing platform available to all PICES member countries and ensure that members from Korea and Russia are recruited, provided they have the necessary expertise.

The second proposal is for the Study Group on North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report (SG-NPESR IV). The NPESRs were initiated in the early 2000s to provide an integrated overview of the status and trends of marine ecosystems, including climate, oceanography, biology, a n d h u m a n d i m e n s i o n s. I n 2024, the PICES External Review R e c o m m e n d a t i o n R e p o r t encouraged PICES to transform in order to deliver "actionable science" more explicitly. The report emphasized the need for the next NPESR to evolve to provide meaningful information to users across PICES communities and beyond. The newly established Study Group will develop an implementation plan for the next NPESR. The plan will be based on a more coordinated and efficient framework that enhances comparability across regions, improves the detection of ecosystem-wide patterns, and integrates findings into management decisions in a timely manner. The membership of this Study Group has not yet been finalized. | encourage interested scientists to participate and to contact the PICES Secretariat to explore involvement.

Capacity building is another high-priority activity for PICES. AP-ECOP is planning two capacity development events for the PICES-2025 Annual Meeting: a Mentor-Mentee Program and an Introduction to PICES. There will also be two side events: a beach cleanup and a site visit to local research institutes.

PICES partner organizations also organize capacity development opportunities for ECOPs. The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) actively builds capacity for ocean science by focusing on developing scientists' skills and competencies. This is achieved through various programs and initiatives, including the SCOR visiting scholars' program and travel grants to attend scientific meetings. In June, the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) held a training workshop on "Proposal Development" in Jeju, Korea. APN holds this workshop annually to teach ECOPs from APN countries how to develop successful proposals for APN research funds. A summary of the 2024 workshop is on page 4 of this issue. In 2025, PICES and APN jointly sponsored the travel of two ECOP participants from China and Russia through an open application process. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) is organizing the GOOD-OARS Summer School 2025 in Penang, Malaysia, in November of this year. As one of PICES's largest partner organizations, the IOC regularly supports this summer school. These programs provide ECOPs with excellent training and networking opportunities with other parts of the scientificcommunity.

PICES has a beautiful tradition of recognizing colleagues who have made significant contributions to PICES science. The Award Selection Committee, composed of Science Board members and the PICES Chair, chose the 2025 recipients of PICES Wooster Award, PICES Ocean Monitoring Service Award (POMA), PICES Open Data Excellence Award (PODA), and the Zhu-Peterson Early Career Scientist Award. The quality of every candidate was outstanding, which made the selection process very difficult for the committee. Please join us in congratulating this year's award winners at the opening ceremony of the annual meeting.

The Science Board has a Science Board Chair-elect position to enable a smooth transition into the duties of the Science Board Chair, and to provide continuity of Science Board business. The term for the Chair-elect is one year. Dr. Jennifer Boldt of Canada was elected Science Board Chair-elect at the 2024 PICES Annual Meeting, and will become the new PICES Science Board Chair at the close of PICES-2025. Dr. Boldt has been an active participant in PICES for many years through her roles as MONITOR Chair, FUTURE SSC member, Science Board member, and Expert Group member, including WG53 on Sustainable Pelagic Forage Communities. Dr. Boldt is looking forward to facilitating a new phase of the PICES science program and addressing the recommendations from the recent external review of PICES. This will ensure that PICES continues to be a progressive marine science organization. Please show Dr. Boldt your interest and strong support.

Lastly, the PICES-2025 Annual Meeting will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from November 8-14. The theme is "Innovative Approaches and Applications to Foster Resilience in North Pacific Ecosystems." The plenary session (November 10) at PICES-2025 will include time for the Council to share its plans for the organization's evolution with the wider community and a Science Board symposium. The Science Board symposium will feature the winners of the Zhu-Peterson Award from 2023 and 2024, as well as the winner of the FUTURE SEES award. Don't miss this opportunity to learn about the latest research from early-career ocean professionals. Many interesting sessions and workshops covering a wide range of topics are also planned. | look forward to seeing you in Yokohama, the largest port city and high-tech industrial hub in Japan's Greater Tokyo Area.

Sukyung Kang

Science Board Chair

References

References

Purnomo AH, Sachoemar SI, Arifin Z, Samiaji J, Tanjung RH, Nurhayati A, et al. (2025) Demographic dimension of ocean perceptions: Evidence from Indonesia. Marine Policy. 2025;178:106706. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106706.