The meeting of the Advisory Panel for a Circulation Research in East Asian Marginal Seas (AP-CREAMS) was held on May 11 and 12, 2017 in University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. Scientists from China, Japan, Korea and Russia attended the meeting. During the meeting, scientists from this four countries discussed the content of the book “Oceanography in East Asian Marginal Seas ”, and the marine investigations held by PICES. This meeting provided a platform for scientists from different countries to exchange their scientific viewpoints. And we operated a network of links with those scientists and their teams attending this meeting.

Detail confirmation of each section of the book was conducted, including presentations of Dr. Wuchang Zhang for planktonic ciliates, bacteria and microbial loop in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, Dr. Guangtao Zhang for zooplankton in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and Dr. Xinzheng Li and Dr. Yong Xu for benthic community in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Several points were discussed and confirmed. The contents should be covered basic information including history before 2000 and the recent progress. Some details of the book were discussed. The amount of each section is about 15 pages except the figures, and number of the figures is about 10. However, the amount is approximate, and it can be different depends on the section. Roles of the contributors, including lead authors, co-authors, and reviewers, are different for each section, and lead authors should be discussed with other contributors to decide. Editorial board can help to communicate among the contributors.