For some time the idea of setting up a meeting to discuss required ecological research on the Humber has been discussed in various circles. The purposes of such a meeting as I see it would be as follows:

1. To identify areas / topics requiring further research / monitoring on the Humber (e.g. disturbance, impacts of climate change, renewable energy, population dynamics etc.)
2. To prioritise areas of research / monitoring
3. To determine the need for the future meetings of the group or to identify whether work can be delivered through existing groups / networks.

Depending on the result of points 1-3:

4. To seek funding where needed.
5. To commission / carry out the required research / monitoring.

As the meeting has been talked about for a while with no action, following a couple of recent conversations with interested people, Humber INCA has agreed to call an initial meeting to move this idea forward. I would therefore be grateful if you could inform me whether you or anyone else in your organisation would be interested in attending and also provide me with an idea of your availability to attend a meeting during early / mid March. I will then set a date for the meeting which fits with most people's availability.

Darren Clarke - darren.clarke@humberinca.co.uk
Conservation Manager
Humber INCA
Web: www.humberinca.co.uk