Related Groups

Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC)

Co-Chaired by Tara McIntyre (DFO) and Tara Trinko-Lake (NOAA Fisheries).
Since 1998, the Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC) has reviewed stock assessments and projections necessary to support management activities for shared resources across the Canada-U.S. boundary in the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank region. These assessments are necessary to advise decision makers on the status of these resources and likely consequences of policy choices. When TRAC was established, it was recognized that its work and documentation would evolve in order to adapt to new realities and would build on experience. Most significantly, the formation of the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC) in 2000 and the recent development of arrangements for consistent management of cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder on eastern Georges Bank have placed new demands on the TRAC process and for TRAC documentation. The TRAC process and the documents necessary to fulfill requirements in the near future are described here.

Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC)

Co-Chaired by Alain d’Entremont (Canada) and Libby Etrie (U.S.)
The Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC), established in 2000, is a government - industry committee comprised of representatives from Canada and the U.S. The Committee's purpose is to develop guidance in the form of harvest strategies, resource sharing and management processes for Canadian and U.S. management authorities for the cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder transboundary resources on Georges Bank. The Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee (TRAC) is the scientific arm of the TMGC which conducts the peer review of the transboundary resources considered by the TMGC.

Working Groups:

Species at Risk

Co-Chaired by Donald Humphrey (DFO) and Jean Higgins (NOAA Fisheries); formed in 2003.
This working group serves as an informal forum that identifies opportunities and develops proposals for jointly addressing common concerns related to species at risk. The working group is comprised of managers and scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Maritimes Region and the Greater Atlantic Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries).

Fish Habitat

Co-Chaired by a member of DFO and a member of NOAA, agreed to in principle; formed in September 2004; serves in an ad-hoc capacity.
The Fish Habitat WG represents a collaborative approach between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the National Marine Fisheries Service in addressing transboundary Habitat issues in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank.

In September 2011, the SC accepted that the Habitat and Oceans Working Groups could be dissolved at this time and reconvened if further collaborative efforts are required in the future.

LNG White Paper

Oceans Management

Co-Chaired by a member of DFO and a member of NOAA agreed to in principle; formed in September 2005; serves in an ad-hoc capacity.

This WG serves as an informal mechanism for developing a joint Canada-U.S. Ecosystem Overview and Assessment Report (EOAR) for the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine.

An EOAR brings together scientific information and knowledge to describe the current understanding of the ecosystem for use by managers, partners, and stakeholders. The report will be based on the best available science and knowledge, and will endure a peer review. In its entirety, the EOAR will provide the integrated scientific knowledge needed to support the development of ecosystem objectives and the advancement of ecosystem-based management.

In September 2011, the SC accepted that the Habitat and Oceans Working Groups could be dissolved at this time and reconvened if further collaborative efforts are required in the future.

Gulf of Maine State of the Ecosystem Overview