Office of Naval Research Pre-conference workshop: Marine Megafauna Task Team (MMTT) Global initiative to coordinate and integrate marine megafauna data in the ocean observing systems Friday, 23 August Submission deadline for pre-workshop survey to capture participants views. Saturday, 14 September 9.00 am – 12.30 pm Introduction and contextualisation: global initiative to coordinate marine megafauna tracking data. Summary of survey results. 1.30 – 5.00 pm Round-table discussions on the definition of clear outlined governance, appropriate resourcing, and defined pathways for implementation, and break-out session. Sunday, 15 September Strategy to tackle gaps identified and working groups session to outline steps to store and share global tracking data in near-real time Compile draft and prepare materials for dissemination at the conference. 14 - 15 September 2019 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort This pre-conference workshop will focus on the relevance of tracking data of marine megafauna, highly migratory marine vertebrates, as an ocean-observing tool for the decade 2019-2029. We identified the need to establish a “Marine Megafauna Task Team” with representatives from national and regional tagging networks to implement a global initiative to coordinate marine megafauna tracking data. The aim is for global tracking data to become available in an interoperable format that can be used effectively to ultimately inform policy makers. The summary outcomes of this workshop will be reported during the conference events: Tuesday, 17 September 9.00 – 10.00 am session Plenary talk by Dr Ana Sequeira 2.00 – 4.00 pm Ecosystem Biodiversity and Health breakout session: Information, Innovation and Integration (including Marine Megafauna) Lead by Dr Maury Estes (NASA Ecological Forecasting Program) This is a free event, however light refreshments and lunch will be provided so please RSVP to Lauren.peel@research.uwa.edu.au before Sunday 18th August 2019 Dr Ana Sequeira University of WA Dr Malcolm O’Toole University of WA Dr Mike Weise Office of Naval Research Prof Rob Harcourt Macquarie University Dr Michelle Heupel AIMS Prof Dan Costa Santa Cruz