Report of the Working Group on Maritime Systems (WGMARS)

The inaugural Working Group on Maritime Systems (WGMARS) meeting was hosted by the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway 31 October – 3 November 2011. The WGMARS interdisciplinary team reviewed the 2011 Reports of two as-sessment working groups (WGs), the Arctic Fisheries WG (AFWG) and the Herring Assessment WG (HAWG) as well as two non-stock assessment WGs, the WG on Eco-system Effects of Fishing Activities (WGECO) and the WG of Marine Planning and Coastal Zone Management (WGMPCZM). The purpose of these reviews was to as-sess and analyse the reports in regards to transparency and saliency of science com-munication in light of marine governance. In addition, the WGMARS team conducted two analyses for each of the reviewed WGs: 1) an analysis of “ICES science synergies” resulting from a simple social network analysis, and 2) a mapping of the origins of each WG’s Terms of Reference (ToRs). WGMARS found the exploratory mapping of “ICES science synergies” a meaningful exercise that can give some pre-liminary insights into scientific capacities for integrated ecosystem advice.