Towards a North Sea ecosystem component of GOOS for assessment and management: report from a strategic workshop in Bergen 5-7 September 2001

ICES and IOC have established a joint Steering Group on GOOS (SGGOOS), which also involves the European component of GOOS (EuroGOOS). To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of data products from current relevant national and international monitoring of the North Sea, the workshop invited the national agencies responsible for monitoring of the North Sea to: - establish a coordinated mechanism that could add value to existing activities by integrating data from various sources (physical, chemical, biological) to aid development of an ecosystem approach, - collaborate by means of a pilot project sponsored by ICES and EuroGOOS to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by integrating data on oceanography and fisheries.