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The Bay of Quinte is a nearly enclosed bay in Lake Ontario which has been impacted by multiple industrial contaminant events and persistent eutrophication. As a result, it became one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) identified and supported by the International Joint Commission (IJC) for remediation. The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (RAP) relies on data from Project Quinte, a long-term monitoring program, to set targets, assess the status of beneficial use impairments and evaluate restoration progress. The ability of organizations to communicate relevant and timely scientific research and monitoring to decision-makers has recently emerged as an important issue in the literature. This article explores the issue of communicating research and monitoring information for the purpose of aiding decision-making through a case study of the Bay of Quinte RAP. Research included semi-structured interviews with scientists, regulators and community stakeholders involved with the Bay of Quinte RAP, observational research, document analysis and literature review. Findings indicate that multiple and diverse techniques are used to communicate research and monitoring data to decision-makers. Furthermore, our findings indicate that accurate tracking of trends, valuing high quality monitoring, promoting stakeholder cooperation, collaborating with other groups implementing RAPs and informing management and decision-making are key beneficial outcomes of shared science about the Bay of Quinte. Lessons learned emphasize the importance of administrative support and institutional memory; integration of ecosystem models; consistent long-term monitoring; and public engagement. These lessons are instructive for stakeholders conducting ecosystem restoration, planning or management, particularly those involved in any of the other RAPs ongoing on the Great Lakes.

In accordance with the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the governments of Canada and the United States have agreed to support the remediation of 43 Areas of Concern (AOC) where “failure [to meet objectives of the agreement] has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use or of the area’s ability to support aquatic life.” A Remedial Action Plan (RAP) has been created for each AOC that outlines how impairments are to be addressed. This presentation will focus on one such plan, the Bay of Quinte RAP, as a case study to explore the role of research and monitoring in realizing the aims of the policy. Results will be based on a literature review encompassing existing works about Great Lakes RAPs, the Bay of Quinte watershed, multi‐party monitoring and the relationship between science and policy, along with semi‐structured interviews with project leaders and community stakeholders to determine how practice at the Bay of Quinte compares to theory and to practice at other Areas of Concern. The results will be instructive for any groups planning a multi‐stakeholder undertaking particularly those involved in any of the 40 other RAPs still underway on our Great Lakes.