A successful international workshop on seagrass monitoring was organized by our Monitoring and Assessment Center in Himi, Toyama Prefecture. The Pollution Monitoring Center has completed the Regional Overview of the NOWPAP Ecological Quality Objectives and relevant indicators, which represents an important step towards defining “good environmental status” for the NOWPAP marine and coastal environment. NOWPAP was at full force at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) co-organizing two sessions (on marine litter and microplastics and on harmful algal blooms), addressing PICES Science Board and Governing Council as well as making presentations at various technical sessions. In September 2017, NOWPAP together with Tripartite Environmental Ministers Meeting held a workshop on marine litter and microplastics management and International Ocean Cleanup Campaign.
