National Ecosystem Modeling Workshop 6 (NEMoW 6): Ecosystem Models for Climate-Ready Fisheries Management

Presenter(s): Howard Townsend, Ecologist, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Sponsor(s): NMFS and NOAA Central Library

Seminar Contacts: Peg Brady (peg.brady@noaa.gov) and NOAA Central Library Seminars (library.seminars@noaa.gov)

Remote Access: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2193136901026367578this link opens in a new window
Registering for this seminar will provide you access to the full series of seminars.

Accessibility: Captions are added to the recordings of presentations once uploaded to the NOAA Central Library YouTube Channelthis link opens in a new window. Sign language interpreting services and closed captioning are available, but need to be requested at least 5 days before the event.

Abstract: NOAA Fisheries has held periodic National Ecosystem Modeling Workshops (NEMoWs) since 2007. NEMoW was designed as a NMFS-wide, national workshop to examine NMFS ecosystem, bio- physical and multispecies modeling approaches in support of ecosystem-based fisheries management and to exchange ideas and develop best practices for ecosystem modeling. In August 2023, The 6th NEMoW was convened to review current and next generation climate data and approaches for incorporating climate drivers and linkages in ecosystem models for ecosystem-oriented management. NEMoW 6 was a joint meeting with the Fisheries Modeling Intercomparison Project ” an international network of ecosystem and climate modelers working to understand the impact of climate on fisheries and ecosystems. To ensure a climate-ready fisheries management system in the US, climate-ready ecosystem and fisheries modeling systems are needed. To expand and fortify climate-ecosystem modeling capacity within NOAA, NEMoW 6 covered topics including: (1) understanding attribution and advancing skill testing in ecosystem models; (2) representing temperature-dependencies and other climate forcings in ecosystem models; (3) improving methods for downscaling climate projections in both data-rich and data-limited regions; (4) evaluating whether global climate projections represent important regional-scale ecosystem processes. This presentation will present some of the highlights from this meeting especially with respect to climate products for ecosystem modeling, linking climate and ocean models with ecosystem models, and policy and management uptake/applications of climate-ecosystem models for decision-making.

Keywords: Climate, Ecosystem, Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management, Climate-Ready Fisheries

Bio(s): Howard Townsend is an ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). He is currently serving as the Acting Division Director for the Office of Science Technology. He serves as the ecosystem modeling coordinator for NMFS. Dr. Townsend has over 20 years of experience developing quantitative models of populations and ecosystems. Dr. Townsend is currently focused on developing models of marine and coastal systems, with a focus on models to be used for the management of fisheries stocks, living marine resources, and their ecosystems. Prior to his work at NMFS, he studied population and evolutionary ecology of seabirds in the Galpagos Islands. He has a B.S. in Biology and minor in Chemistry from Wake Forest University, North Carolina (USA). He has a Ph. D. in Biology with a concentration in Statistics and Mathematical Modeling from Wake Forest University, North Carolina (USA).

Recordings: Recordings will be shared 24 hours after the event on the NOAA Central Library YouTube channelthis link opens in a new window.