standardization of environmental data and information - International ...

?? Marine mammals and seabirds: The most realistic approach
would be to have visual transects between stations. Typically,
under the IWC protocols, when a marine mammal was spotted
the observation vessel would divert from its course to try to
identify the mammal or get a better idea of the count and then
go back to the track. Obviously, that would not be done for
seabirds, but a well-trained person could readily identify
seabirds.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
Use of existing standards
At the start of the discussion, Craig Smith observed that a number
of accepted techniques and standards for different types of sample
collection and analysis existed either in protocol manuals, like that of
JGOFS, or in scientific papers. One efficient approach to standardisation
would be to say that, in sampling macrofauna, for example, the techniques
of Sibuet et al. (1975) were recommended. Every scientific paper described
its methods, and identifying from the literature a few papers that described
the methods adequately would be an easy way to set standards. For much
deep-sea research, no protocol manuals were available, so that a landmark
paper might be used instead.
Koslow stated that that was what he was proposing also. A decision
could be taken, for a particular component, to use a specified method from
a particular paper such as the JGOFS protocols or the ICES manual. The
more advanced state of water-column research, and the greater amounts of
money available for it, had led to the manuals and protocols in that area.
So many groups around the world were carrying out cruises that it had
become necessary to reach an agreement about methods. In the absence
of a strong reason to the contrary, it made sense simply to adopt, say, the
JGOFS protocols for measuring bacteria, phytoplankton and so on, which
everybody could then follow, making things a lot simpler. The JGOFS and
IWC protocols and the ICES manual were quite specific, amounting to
cookbooks.
Magnitude of mining impacts
Asked about the size of an area likely to be influenced by a mining
operation and the probability of a negative impact on the ecosystem,
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INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY