PREFACE 



This workshop, held on April 6-8, 1982 in Frederick, Maryland, was convened 

 and sponsored by the Environmental Data and Information Service (EDIS)l of NOAA. 

 EDIS has long been interested and Involved in the application of quantitative 

 mathematical modeling to problems of resource management and assessment of 

 environmental and man-induced impacts on valuable national resources. Its Center 

 for Environmental Assessment Services (CEAS)^ regularly uses climatic, oceano- 

 graphic, and ecological models as scientific tools to provide decision assistance 

 to managers of critical national resources, especially food and marine resources. 

 Quite often these models are applied in a predictive or forecasting mode to 

 enable managers to consider the consequences of various environmental scenarios, 

 devise alternative management strategies, and develop contingency plans. Like 

 most users of scientific tools, we are constantly on the lookout for ways to 

 improve those tools, expand their applications, and ensure that they are well- 

 suited to their intended use. 



The major objective of this workshop was to bring together research scien- 

 tists, model builders, model users, resource economists, resource managers, and 

 administrators to discuss and assess the current and future role of ecosystem 

 modeling as a useful and practical tool in marine environmental impact assessment 

 and in the development and implementation of management strategies and policies 

 for conservation and wise utilization of maine resources. 



Participants were invited from government, academia, research institutions, 

 and private industry. The composite blend of diverse scientific and 

 management/administrative expertise from both public and private sectors allowed 

 for an open and critical dialogue on the issues which were addressed and, perhaps 

 more importantly, ensured that the workshop findings would represent a balanced 

 perspective as opposed to a limited or biased view. The findings reported in 

 these proceedings may have been significantly different had only single guild of 

 professionals (e.g., modelers or resource managers) been involved in the 

 deliberations . 



The workshop was divided into three sessions: (1) invited papers, (2) 

 working panels, and (3) a plenary session. The invited papers were presented 

 on the first day and provided a valuable information base on a broad spectrum of 

 marine ecosystem modeling topics directly pertinent to the workshop objectives. 

 Four working panels composed of 12 to 13 panelists each convened on the morning 

 of the second day. It Is worth mentioning that the panels also represented a 

 diverse mix of professional background and expertise; no panel was dominated by 

 experts in the topic area. This "within panel blending" was in keeping with 

 our desire to provide a balanced consensus of viewpoints and opinions. Each 

 panel addressed a general area of marine ecosystem modeling relevant to resource 



^•EDIS was merged with the National Earth Satellite Service (NESS) as part 

 of the NOAA reorganization which was effective in December 1982. The new ser- 

 vice is the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 

 (NESDIS). 



Z CEAS is now the Assessment and Information Services Center (AISC). 



VII 



