Over the last decade the number of coastal and open ocean observing programmes operating in the Pacific Islands region has grown substantially. Almost all of these programmes are operated by Pacific rim countries but the data and products are available for everyone to use, and have considerable relevance to coastal and oceans management within Pacific Island nations. It is therefore imperative that fisheries, environment, meteorological, and climate professionals working in Pacific Island governments become more aware and make full use of some of the important environmental data being generating by the observing programmes operating in their waters.

A number of major regional partners have therefore come together to support a technical training workshop on marine data and observations, the first of its kind in the region. The workshop represents a unique opportunity to bring together professionals from different ministries to receive hands-on training within small groups from a number of regional marine data experts.

The workshop is a joint initiative of the South Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP) & the Pacific Islands Global Ocean Observing System (PI-GOOS).

Workshop Objectives

• Raise awareness of the coastal and open ocean datasets and data products being generated in the Pacific Islands region.
• Provide hands-on training in the use of existing online data access, visualization, and extraction systems.
• Gain a common understanding of specific needs for marine data by key user groups in fisheries, meteorology, and environment departments, match needs to data availability, and identify gaps.
• Provide information on the use of certain datasets for policy development and implementation, particularly those generated by the SEAFRAME sea level gauges.

Workshop Structure

The workshop will run over 4 days from 22-25 September 2008 and comprise of plenary presentations, discussions, and a number of small group training sessions designed to provide hands-on experience in accessing, visualizing, extracting, and manipulating a number of specific marine datasets and data themes under the guidance of regional marine data experts.

For more information, please contact the PI-GOOS Coordinator.