FORECASTING A SUMMER OF EXTREMES BUILDING STAKEHOLDER RESPONSE CAPACITY TO MARINE HEATWAVES

Forecasts of an El Niño in 2023/2024 raised concern among Australian marine stakeholders regarding its potential impacts on marine industries and systems. National level seafood-focused climate briefings were requested by the fisheries sector for the first time, driven by various state and regional level meetings and information requests. To respond to stakeholder needs, six virtual national marine climate briefings were undertaken through the austral 2023/2024 summer, underpinned by new subsea-sonal to seasonal marine heatwave forecast capabilities. These briefings were developed in collaboration with multiple science organizations and were targeted to industry and management authorities across the Australian seafood sector. As a result, targeted information products, additional regional and sector-specific briefings, and state response plans were developed. Collectively, these briefings were a catalyst for positive and rapid action in policy, management, industry, and research arenas. This experience showed that the combination of seasonal forecasting capability, inter-agency coordination, strong stakeholder engagement, and effective science communication plays a critical role in improving the understanding of, planning for, and responses to extreme events.