I am posting the following as a gentle reminder, especially to those
researchers who work in the Indian Ocean (if you cannot get us your
information by the April 1 deadline, please still send it through, as we
still may be able to include it):


SOLICITATION LETTER TO POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE STATE OF THE
CETACEAN ENVIRONMENT REPORT (SOCER)

This letter is a call for submissions to enable us to produce a draft
State of the Cetacean Environment Report (SOCER) for consideration by
the IWC's Scientific Committee. It will be the fifth SOCER produced. The
ultimate objective is to provide Commissioners (in response to
Resolution 2000-7) and other interested parties with a non-technical
periodic summary of events, developments and conditions in the marine
environment that are relevant to cetaceans. Such developments might
range from unusual mortalities to new legislation protecting marine
habitats.

The report is compiled on an annual basis, with pre-selected regions to
be treated each year. These regions include: Mediterranean and Black
Seas; North and South Atlantic; North and South Pacific; Arctic and
Southern Ocean; Indian Ocean; and Global.  

This year will be devoted to the Indian Ocean.

Every 4-6 years, the regional reports will be combined, along with
important additions pertaining to the various regions that occurred in
the intervening period, into a complete global SOCER.

We are asking for submissions of information that in your opinion merit
inclusion in this report. This should primarily include information on
events from 2004, 2005 and the months of 2006 before the submission
deadline, although earlier data may be submitted if relevant over the
long term. You may submit information in two ways:

1. Send an email to one of the SOCER editors (see contact information
below) and include the relevant scientific paper(s) as an attachment;
2. Use the standardised form for data entry, which can be downloaded
from http://www.iwcoffice.org/SCWEB/socer.htm. Please fill out all the
relevant fields. Any additional information provided (see item VIII:
"additional information and remarks") will assist the editorial
decision-making process regarding inclusion in the SOCER.  If an event
or development does not fit the format of the form, but you nonetheless
believe it warrants inclusion, please specify this in Item VIII. The
relevant scientific papers should be submitted with the submission form
or otherwise drawn to the attention of the editors. 

With few exceptions, only information stemming from published scientific
papers and reports or other authoritative sources can be accepted.
However, any supporting documentation for an event or development - such
as news items - may also be submitted with the form.

*****The deadline for submissions for the 2006 SOCER is: April 1, 2006.

The SOCER will also contain a glossary of technical terms. The draft
version of this report will be written by the principal SOCER editors
(Michael Stachowitsch, Naomi Rose and Chris Parsons) and circulated as a
Scientific Committee document in advance of the Scientific Committee
meeting, where its content and format will be evaluated. Please note
that, due to editorial considerations (succinct format for
Commissioners), not all submissions may be incorporated (or incorporated
in full) into the SOCER.

We would greatly appreciate your input into this endeavor, which we
intend to be a useful contribution to international understanding,
particularly at the policy level, of cetaceans and their changing
environment.

Michael Stachowitsch                                    Naomi Rose
Dept. of Marine Biology                                 Humane Society
International
University of Vienna                                    2100 L Street,
N.W.
Althanstrasse 14, A-1090                                Washington, D.C.
20037 USA
Vienna, Austria                                         Email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]                                

Chris Parsons
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030 USA
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 

_______________________________________________
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
http://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam

Reply via email to