Maritime Awards Society of Canada

The International Ocean Governance Working Group (IOG WG) is organizing a paper session at the 2009 OMRN National Conference on the broad theme of International Arctic Ocean Governance. With the renewed focus on the Arctic due to the effects of climate change in the region, increased interest in the development of northern resources, and announcements by the Canadian government of new initiatives to assert Canadian sovereignty in the region, there are numerous calls both inside and outside of Canada for strengthening international governance structures for the Arctic Ocean region. This session will consider perspectives on IOG in relation to marine shipping and future marine resource developments in the Canadian Arctic.

Individuals are invited to submit proposals for paper presentations in this session. If interested, please forward a proposed title and short paper abstract (one paragraph will suffice) to Susan Rolston at seawindscs@eastlink.ca by Monday, 24 August 2009.

Funding assistance for travel and accommodation may be available if needed for selected presentations. Students are particularly encouraged to participate and are reminded that special opportunities are available to them (see http://www.omrn-rrgo.ca/smc/students.php).

Additionally, the IOG WG is organizing a Dialogue Session at the conference, provisionally titled “International Fisheries Governance: Jigging Towards Sustainability”. The session will focus on the approaches and issues affecting international fisheries governance with a focus on North Atlantic regional fisheries management organizations and illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Speakers from Canada and abroad have been invited to make presentations during this session. If you are interested in making a presentation at this session, contact Susan Rolston at seawindscs@eastlink.ca by Monday, 24 August 2009. Please indicate the contribution you would want to make.