Proposal for the development of an ocean-climate web page for the IOTC

In the vein of the growing interest of fisheries scientists from the Indian Ocean to incorporate environmental factors and climate variability in fisheries research and fish stock assessment, we propose to develop an “ocean climate web page” for the Indian Ocean, to be hosted on the FAO/IOTC web site, with regular updates of the information posted on this web page. In this paper, we present a draft of the site structure and possible content that is open to discussion at the WPDCS14. The ocean climate web page is a compilation of selected information produced by ocean data centres and scientific organisations on the status of the Indian Ocean and how it responds to climate variability. This set of information is intended to inform tuna scientists, fisheries managers on the status and trends of essential characteristics in the open ocean ecosystems of the Indian Ocean, with emphasis on tuna habitat.