ABOUT PICES

WHAT WE ARE
PICES, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization, is an intergovernmental scientific organization that was established and held its first meetings in 1992. Its present members are Canada, Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America.

The purposes of the Organization are as follows:
  • Promote and coordinate marine research in the northern North Pacific and adjacent seas especially northward of 30 degrees North
  • Advance scientific knowledge about the ocean environment, global weather and climate change, living resources and their ecosystems, and the impacts of human activities
  • Promote the collection and rapid exchange of scientific information on these issues
PICES CHART
PICES NEW MISSION STATEMENT

As a crucial first step towards fostering actionable science, Governing Council has updated the PICES Mission Statement. The new Mission Statement places a stronger emphasis on delivering actionable information to member states, moving beyond the advancement of general scientific knowledge. It explicitly incorporates "human dimensions" into the analysis of ecosystem interactions, broadening the scope of inquiry. Additionally, the revised text underscores a commitment to multi-sector collaboration—uniting academic researchers, government scientists, and managers—with the specific aim of informing decisions that support the protection and sustainability of the North Pacific Ocean.

The new mission statement reads as follows:
PICES conducts and coordinates marine research and the exchange of knowledge across the North Pacific Ocean to provide member states with actionable information on the current and future conditions of the ocean environment and its resources, including the interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, marine ecosystems and human dimensions. PICES brings together academic researchers, government scientists and managers, and organizations responsible for the protection and sustainability of the North Pacific Ocean to inform decisions and actions.