North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES)
c/o Institute of Ocean Sciences
P.O. Box 6000 (
mailing address)
9860 West Saanich Road (
courier/institute address)
Sidney, British Columbia
Canada V8L 4B2
Phone: +1-250-363-6366
Fax: +1-250-363-6827
Email: secretariat@PICES.int
Sonia Batten
PICES Executive Secretary
Phone: +1-250-363-6364
E-mail: sonia.batten@pices.int
I became Executive Secretary of PICES on April 14th, 2020. For the twenty-five years prior to that I worked as a biological oceanographer for the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey firstly under the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS, where I was also Assistant Director) and then following its merger, with the Marine Biological Association, UK.
I was Director of the North Pacific CPR survey which began in 2000. This survey came about mainly through PICES efforts, following the first PICES meeting I attended in 1998. I’ve been involved with PICES ever since, participating in scientific sessions and workshops,
as a MONITOR ex-officio committee member, and a contributor to the North Pacific Ecosystem Status Reports (NPESR II and III).
Sanae Chiba
Deputy Executive Secretary
Phone: +1-250-363-6826
E-mail: sanae.chiba@pices.int
My initiation to the PICES community was at the 2001 Annual Meeting when I was a postdoc
researcher with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
Through participation in long-term ecosystem change studies, such as global comparisons of
zooplankton time-series and the North Pacific Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) project,
and international programmes/frameworks such as the GOOS Biology-Ecosystem Panel and
World Ocean Assessment II,
I became an advocate of international collaboration in ocean science and communication across scientific disciplines. More recently, I was on secondment to the
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in the UK from 2016-2019, where I learnt practical methods to apply to the science-policy interface and its importance in marine social science. In summer 2021 I returned to the North Pacific Ocean when I was appointed as the PICES Deputy Executive Secretary. The timing coincided with the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, and the emergence of the post pandemic paradigm in global society. I feel excited to see how PICES will shine and evolve in this new era of ocean science.
Julia Yazvenko
Database and Web Administrator
E-mail: secretariat@pices.int
I started working for the PICES Secretariat in 2003. I grew up in Azerbaijan, received my first degree in Moscow (B.A. in History, Moscow State University) and after moving to Canada (1992), I continued my education (M.A. in History, University of Waterloo and Computer Science, University of Victoria). I worked in the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project in Greece as a member of an international team of scientists and archaeologists, and later as a technician, translator/editor and programmer at various private sector companies. My major responsibility is the maintenance of PICES Database and Website; website design, web and database maintenance, and logistics for co-sponsored events. I also assist in production of PICES publications.
Saeseul Kim
Administrative Officer
Phone: 1-250-363-6878
E-mail: Saeseul.Kim@pices.int
I joined PICES since 2019 as an intern – perhaps the longest-serving intern in the PICES history!
With a background in Earth Resources and Environmental engineering from Korea, I started my career in international cooperation for ocean science at Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). At KIOST, my work focused on building relationships with several international organizations, including PICES – though I never imagined that I would be a part of PICES secretariat one day.
Following my internship, I transitioned into the Administrative Officer role in 2023, succeeding my predecessor Christina Chiu, who served this role for many years. In this role, I am responsible for managing the finance and administration of the PICES Secretariat, as well as organising the PICES Annual Meetings and other international conferences and symposia. If you attend a PICES event, you’ll likely find me at the registration desk. I would love to say hello if you stop by.
Working for an international organization has been my dream for a long time. So, I feel lucky and truly grateful to be part of the PICES secretariat.
Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, drawing, pottery, and crafting. Like other PICES people, I am a cat person. Lately, I’ve been into CrossFit and love exploring fancy restaurants around Vancouver Island.
Devon Warawa
PICES Communications Officer
E-mail: devon.warawa@pices.int
I joined PICES as Communications Officer in 2024. My academic and professional background is rooted in science, with a focus on fisheries management and policy. I have a master’s degree from California State University Monterey Bay, where I worked on ROV-based baseline monitoring for Marine Protected Areas. In 2018, I joined Fisheries and Oceans Canada, conducting research to support international policy implementation. Effective communication has been key to bridging science with policy and decision-making, ensuring that science leads to actionable initiatives in my career. It is a privilege to work with PICES and support the valuable work of its international community.
Alexander Bychkov
Special Projects Coordinator
E-mail: Bychkov@pices.int
My career with PICES started almost 30 years ago. I was the Assistant Executive Secretary of the Organization from May 1, 1996 to May 31, 1999, the Executive Secretary from June 1, 1999 to December 31, 2014, and serve now as a Special Projects Coordinator. In this capacity, I have been responsible for coordinating activities related to the PICES 25th anniversary, preparing a number of international events
(including the symposium on “Understanding Changes in Transitional Areas of the Pacific” and all meetings in the Small Pelagic Fish Symposium series – SPF-2017, SPF-2022 and SPF-2026), managing several scientific projects supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MarWeB – “Marine Ecosystem Health and Human Well-Being”, FishGIS – “Building Capacity for Coastal Monitoring by Small-scale Fishers”), Ciguatera – “Building Local Warning Networks for the Detection and Human Dimension of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Indonesian Communities” and FishPhytO – “Creating a phytoplankton-fishery observing program for sustaining local communities in Indonesian coastal waters”) and by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (ADRIFT – “Assessing the Debris-Related Impacts From the Tsunami”), and assembling publications resulting from these projects and meetings.
In 2016, I received the PICES Chair Award given for “dedication and hard work that were key drivers that have moved PICES from a regional North Pacific science organization to a well-respected and recognized truly global organization, leading important initiatives in climate change and marine ecosystem science.”
Prior to PICES, I spent about 20 years as a research scientist and head of the Marine Hydrochemistry and Geochemistry Laboratory at the V.I. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute (Vladivostok, Russia), working on the carbon cycle in the North Pacific and its marginal seas. I was involved in national and international cooperation related to the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), and served as a member of the JGOFS Scientific Steering Committee, co-chairman of the JGOFS North Pacific Task Team, and chairman of the JGOFS North Pacific Synthesis Group.
