The Out of the Fog: Furthering the Establishment of an Electronic Environmental Information Exchange for the Gulf of Maine

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Executive Summary

The Out of the Fog: Furthering the Establishment of an Electronic Environmental Information Exchange for the Gulf of Maine workshop, a collaborative effort between the New England Aquarium and the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment (GOMC) was held on November 4-6, 1998 at the New England Aquarium. This bilateral meeting between the United States and Canada attracted 55 participants from a variety of backgrounds, including, commercial fisheries, watershed management, aquatic science and education.

Much progress has been made towards establishing a vision for the Gulf of Maine through the work of the GOMC, the Global Programme of Action Coalition for the Gulf of Maine (GPAC), the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine (RARGOM) and other regional efforts. As a result, a number of priority areas have been identified. With input from the GOMC’s Working Group and the Information Management Committee an immediate need to improve data and information exchange among interest groups was determined. A Steering Committee was formed consisting of federal, state and provincial managers, scientists, environmentalists and marine educators to plan a workshop to address this issue.

Recognizing that a number of independent efforts to develop a data and information exchange are at various stages in the Gulf of Maine, the purpose of this workshop was threefold: 1) to explore interest in and the feasibility of establishing a more unified network for exchanging information and data about the Gulf of Maine; 2) to examine regional initiatives from other areas of the country; and 3) to identify the best approach and develop an action plan for establishing a regional network for the Gulf of Maine, should the group agree that it was needed.

Over what amounted to two-full days of discussions, participants shared their experiences about local initiatives to establish electronic information exchange systems via the Internet. Participants had been involved in a variety of initiatives aimed at specific user groups including the NGO community, state and federal environmental managers and scientists. Participants also took part in a hands-on computer session to familiarize themselves with various Internet search tools and existing information systems. Several speakers from around the country shared their challenges and successes in establishing regional information and data systems. Possible funding opportunities and approaches for promoting electronic information exchange in this region also were discussed.

Prior to the workshop, a regional survey was administered to gather input from various interest groups about their values, concerns and information and data needs. The survey targeted the NGO and education communities, in particular, because these were identified by the GOMC and RARGOM as target user groups in expanding their existing efforts. Preliminary findings from the survey, which continued to be distributed and tallied through December 1998, were presented as part of the workshop. In addition, a one-page Vision Statement was crafted, based on survey findings and a review of existing literature prepared by active regional interest groups.

Download the complete workshop (1.4 Mb PDF)