Co-Convenors: Shang Chen (China), Keith Criddle (USA), Ekaterina Golovashchenko (Russia), Mitsutaku Makino (Japan), Jungho Nam (Korea), Minling Pan (USA) and Ian Perry (Canada)

Invited Speakers:
Leif Anderson (NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, USA)
Kai Chan (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Shang Chen (First Institute of Oceanography, SOA, PR China)
Dan Lew (NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, USA)

Marine ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from the sea and ocean. Since the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports were published in 2005, the concept of ecosystem services has been broadly accepted by politicians, scientists, developers and the public. When politicians make policy decisions, they should know the value of the marine ecosystem services involved, and how much economic development and human well-being the marine ecosystem may support. As scientists, we have the responsibility to give the answers or the best estimates to these questions. The goals of this session are to provide scientists with a platform to exchange results from research on marine ecosystem services and to show how they contribute to the economy and human well-being. In turn, these research activities will be a demonstration of the contributions and significance of the work being done on this topic within PICES communities, including marine-related research institutes, universities, and management agencies, to marine science and national economies.