A field biologist deploying plankton nets to capture the micro-biodiversity driving our pelagic ecosystems. Photo: AfrOBIS

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, AfrOBIS, the OBIS Node for sub-Saharan Africa, contributes to coordinating marine biodiversity data from a vast region across African waters, stretching from the Gulf of Guinea to the Western Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. AfrOBIS is also aggregating data from two of the world’s most productive marine systems: the Benguela Current on the west coast of Africa and the Agulhas Current on the east coast. We spoke with Tshikana Rasehlomi, AfrOBIS Node and Data Manager, to learn more about the role the Node plays as a connecting point for African marine biodiversity data, the challenges of mobilizing data and engaging with providers across so many countries, and, finally, how AfrOBIS is integrating new data types such as eDNA and acoustic monitoring.


OBIS: Dear Tshikana, it’s a pleasure to have this talk with you! Could you introduce us to AfrOBIS?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here. AfrOBIS is the sub-Saharan African Node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), and it acts as an open-access repository for marine biodiversity data in the entire region. It was officially launched on 1 July 2005, originally under the custodianship of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, before moving to the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment. It is now hosted under the Marine Information Management System (MIMS), an accredited Associated Data Unit under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of IOC. We are based in Cape Town, South Africa. Our funding and mode of operation are tied to MIMS’ mandate for the long-term preservation of national marine and coastal data.


Could you tell us how many people are working at the Node?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: AfrOBIS operates through three specialized teams. The data curation team manages data mobilization, standardization to Darwin Core and Ecological Metadata Language, taxonomic validation, and the dissemination of digital objects. The system development team is in charge of all the archival management systems, software tools, data workflows, and, crucially, the integration of new data types. The IT infrastructure administration team handles the back-end systems and server management, ensuring smooth operations. In total, we are ten people: two biological and biodiversity data curators, two curators handling geographic and physical oceanographic datasets, two system developers, two IT infrastructure staff, and the two of us in coordination roles: myself as Node Manager and Ms Ayanda Mahanjana as my support.


That is a substantial force! Could you clarify how AfrOBIS sits within South Africa’s broader marine data infrastructure?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: South Africa used to have a National Oceanographic Data Centre called the Southern African Data Centre for Oceanography, or SADCO. Due to funding constraints and a lack of personnel, it eventually lost its NODC status. No data was lost, though: we currently manage the entire SADCO database under the MIMS system, and we are now backed by steady governmental funds, ensuring long-term financial stability. The SADCO archive is huge, with crucial historical records as far as 1911.

A benthic ecologist coring the intertidal sand within a quadrat to sample crucial benthic organisms. Photo: AfrOBIS

What drove the creation of AfrOBIS in 2005?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: Two forces drove the creation of AfroOBIS: making African data accessible durably and stably, and supporting evidence-based decision-making in South Africa and on the continent. South Africa always had a dual approach to marine biodiversity data, with a focus on both continental and national levels. At the end of the 90s, when marine information was extremely fragmented across the continent, South Africa decided to be the driving force that would provide an authoritative regional source for all African marine biodiversity data. The objective was to digitize, collect, and centralize existing and upcoming data to integrate it into OBIS as part of the Census of Marine Life programme, the global Sloan Foundation-funded initiative that created OBIS before it moved under the IOC of UNESCO. This pipeline was originally established through SADCO and then moved to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, which led to the creation of AfrOBIS in 2005.

Two forces drove the creation of AfroOBIS: making African data accessible durably and stably, and supporting evidence-based decision-making in South Africa and on the continent.

The motivation for the country was to integrate African marine datasets into a global data ecosystem and to make sure that this data would remain visible and accessible. That was crucial for South African national policy, but also for bilateral and regional cooperation, as well as for international contributions. At a national level, South Africa needed to make this data accessible to support evidence-based decisions, such as the creation of marine protected areas and fisheries management. AfrOBIS continues to play the same role today: a lot of the data from AfrOBIS and the SADCO database is used for marine spatial planning across the region.


AfrOBIS occupies a unique position in the OBIS network as a regional leader. Could you tell us more about how far that reach extends, and how you balance national and regional responsibilities?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: The name of our Node says it all: we are AfrOBIS, not South AfrOBIS! From the very inception, the ambition was to cover a much wider area than South Africa alone. Today, AfrOBIS has working ties as far as Cameroon, Nigeria, and Gabon for West Africa, and as far as Tanzania for the East side, with whom, through several efforts coordinated by the IOC Sub Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States (IOCAfrica) and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), we continue to receive data. We collaborated actively with Kenya, and we continue to cooperate now that the country has established its own Node. In the south-west, we collaborate with Namibia and Angola through the Benguela Current Convention, and we have a growing relationship with Benin, which sends us data and regularly requests training for research students in marine data management.

Going back to your question, balancing national hosting obligations with regional leadership is indeed genuinely demanding. But we now have accumulated a lot of experience and do not rely on a single institution to move things forward. We have developed an interdepartmental collaboration approach gathering institutions, state entities, and academia. A lot of the template work we now rely on was developed by a cross-disciplinary community of academic, government, non-governmental, and industry researchers. And this collaborative work has given us a strong foundation. We also have a close working relationship with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), which hosts the country’s GBIF Node: rather than competing for datasets, we coordinate, and the GBIF Node helps researchers get their data into the right format to be published through AfrOBIS, with the metadata then harvested for GBIF.

Due to large discrepancies in structures and resources across the region, we have to overcome hurdles, of course. Some of the data we receive needs significant cleaning before it can be published, often because of infrastructure constraints in the country of origin. In the past, data sometimes arrived without sufficient clearance from its country of origin, but the IOC national focal points have been very helpful in resolving those situations. We are immensely grateful to the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), Oceans & Coasts branch, whose sole funding has enabled us to secure a dedicated team that can attend to these requests on a continuous basis, looking after MIMS, SADCO, and AfrOBIS together.

Biodiversity trackers dropping quadrats on intertidal reefs to monitor long-term abundance shifts. Photo: AfrOBIS

What are the biggest challenges you see for the marine biodiversity data landscape in your region?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: A first major challenge is funding, and specifically the funding needed to digitize historical data. A lot of African marine data still sits in hard-copy records. We have been actively supporting national partners to access GBIF funding programmes for digitization, and managed to achieve significant results: We worked with partners in Cameroon and with the University of Lagos in Nigeria, for example, both of whom later contributed datasets that flowed into AfrOBIS and into OBIS. Africa is not alone when it comes to digitizing existing data. The same issue applies far beyond our continent: many countries in the global South have data that exists and could be shared, but a lack of resources keeps it on the shelf. This is an overlooked, almost endemic challenge, and one that deserves much more attention and funding. It is not only about biological data, either. Pre-industrial oceanographic and climate datasets dating back to the 1950s exist across the Indian Ocean Rim countries, for example. Initiatives like the Indian Ocean Data Rescue Initiative (INDARE), run by the World Meteorological Organization, did help some island states, including Madagascar and Mauritius, until funding fell away around 2015. Reviving that kind of structured, well-funded data rescue would unlock substantial volumes of marine biodiversity data.

A second major challenge is institutional. In some countries that used to provide data to AfrOBIS, changes in leadership and the absence of clear data-sharing policies have made contributions far less predictable. The key issue is to move from a culture of data ownership to one of data stewardship, where the value of data sharing is recognized by governments and institutions. We start seeing a real shift among individual scientists, who now understand the value of data citation, recognition, and visibility across borders. The remaining difficulty is convincing the leadership of their institutions to formalize that openness in policy.

We invest heavily in capacity building. Over the years, we have run data management workshops and training sessions across the region

How do you incentivize data holders, whether researchers or institutions, to share their data through AfrOBIS?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: We invest heavily in capacity building. Over the years, we have run data management workshops and training sessions across the region, focused on the FAIR, CARE, and TRUST principles, and on the long-term value of making datasets visible and findable. When researchers understand that their datasets will receive persistent identifiers (DOIs) and proper citations for their datasets, the conversation shifts very quickly.

A good example is a workshop hosted by the University of Lagos in Nigeria and regional partners a year and a half ago, which we contributed to. We wanted to introduce AfrOBIS as a Node of choice to researchers and students who were already using OBIS data, often without even realizing that there was an existing African Node feeding into the platform. We covered the OBIS tools, and we ran practical sessions on tidying up data and moving it from Excel or CSV into Darwin Core, so it would be publication-ready. We had GBIF colleagues join us to explain the complementarity between OBIS and GBIF: once data is in Darwin Core, it can flow to both. The two global systems now harvest the data and metadata from AfrOBIS following the principle “publish once - harvest many times”. A big part of our role in those workshops is also helping partners to recover the descriptive metadata that very old datasets often lack, since metadata is what makes data reproducible and reusable.


How is AfrOBIS adapting to new data types such as eDNA, acoustic monitoring, and imagery?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: We have just finalized a Darwin Core-compliant biological schema that allows us to ingest a much wider range of data than before. It was a response to the growing volume of data sitting in MIMS that had not been properly archived, and to the rise of new data types: underwater imagery with automated species annotation, acoustic monitoring, and environmental DNA. South Africa is a natural gateway for Antarctic whales moving towards Europe, with most of them passing through the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem on the west coast, so we have built up significant acoustic datasets on whales and other marine mammals.

eDNA is the newest frontier. It started for us as a smaller project looking at the Cape Canyons off the west coast, and grew into a study of the genetic connectivity of the network of marine protected areas along that coast. When the data came in, I was struck by how complex it was. Fortunately, our biological data curators came from the South African National Biodiversity Institute, where many of them had been part of the GBIF technical group, and that experience fed directly into the development of the biological schema. They are now applying it to data from both internal and regional scientists, especially in support of marine spatial planning. eDNA formed a key part of recent ministerial discussions on the Blue Ocean economy, paving the way for dedicated infrastructure investment in this sector. We also look forward to collaborating with the eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028 project!

FRS Algoa setting sail for deep-sea biodiversity and oceanographic mapping. Photo: AfrOBIS

How has AfrOBIS data been used to support marine policy and reporting?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: AfrOBIS has played a direct role in the design of marine protected areas in South Africa. In the framework of the 30 per cent target by 2030, AfrOBIS and SADCO have been at the forefront of providing the baseline data needed to establish new MPAs based on evidence rather than expediency. These MPAs extend into Namibian waters as well, because we share migratory species — sardine, anchovy, tuna, and some hake stocks reach as far as Namibia. The Benguela Current Convention, which brings together South Africa, Namibia, and Angola, allows us to use historical data to support that joint planning.

Beyond MPAs, AfrOBIS data have supported the protection of marine top predators, including the endangered African penguin and the Cape gannet colonies along the west and south coasts. Some of these colonies have been designated as protected areas precisely because AfrOBIS data shows long-term declines linked to climate change and to the overfishing of sardine and anchovy. Policymakers have directly come back to AfrOBIS to look at the data we hold, and that has provided the baselines for the designations.

We are also regularly asked to provide input into reporting under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the BBNJ Agreement is increasingly part of the conversation as well. A national focal point connected to WIOMSA, covering Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and South Africa, represents the region in BBNJ negotiations. The direct contribution from AfrOBIS as a data manager to those discussions is still in the making. The expectation across departments is that standardized data flowing through us will increasingly support reporting against the BBNJ Agreement, the African Union Blue Economy Strategy, and other global frameworks.

A marine explorer catching and cataloging intertidal macrofauna along Africa's dynamic coastlines. Photo: AfrOBIS

Is there a dataset or project within AfrOBIS that you are particularly proud of?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: It would be very difficult for me to single out one dataset! But I am particularly happy with the linefish fisheries surveys, because we are now using them as a technology demonstrator. We have built dashboards showing how the species have been performing in terms of catch per unit effort, and that work is feeding into legislation on total allowable catch in South Africa. To see data move from collection to archive to legislation is genuinely rewarding. Policymakers do not always see the work involved in standardizing data to that level, but when you can show them the outcome through a dashboard, the appreciation is immediate.

Being part of the OBIS community means we can contribute to a truly global ocean data ecosystem while representing the interests of the sub-Saharan African region

Are there ongoing partnerships or collaborations you would like to highlight?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: Our partnership with the Benguela Current Convention stands out: they are currently part of the Technical Advisory Group that guides both AfrOBIS and MIMS. Through our interactions with Norwegian biologists and with the Nansen research vessel programme, we share data standards, methodologies, and approaches to managing marine biodiversity data. That is a long-term collaboration I am very proud of.

A more recent development is a partnership with the agency representing our national Navy. Naval ships reach places that research vessels typically do not access, and they have collected acoustic data while studying the impact of naval operations on whales, dolphins, and other species. In the past, this kind of data would have stayed strictly within defence. In the interest of openness and transparency, the relevant agency representing the Navy is now willing to share these acoustic datasets and other operational oceanography data through AfrOBIS and MIMS. It is a real breakthrough, and I am very curious to see how the partnership between government scientists and the naval service will evolve.

Eco-detectives coring and profiling sandy shores to map vulnerable baseline ecosystems. Photo: AfrOBIS

Do you collaborate with other OBIS Nodes, and what does being part of the OBIS community mean to you?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: We do collaborate with other Nodes, most recently with OBIS Kenya, and with OBIS Norway through the South African GBIF Node. In 2024, while I was in Norway, we developed a funding application together with OBIS Norway and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Bergen. The relationship continues, and we are working on joint data management activities for the data collected between our two countries.

Being part of the OBIS community means we can contribute to a truly global ocean data ecosystem while representing the interests of the sub-Saharan African region, as well as the Global South perspective that was missing for a long time. Beyond representing my own Node, I am representing the aspirations and the work of many scientists across Africa whom I may never meet, but whose data carries the weight of their commitment to marine and biodiversity conservation.


What is on AfrOBIS’s horizon for the coming years?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: Several priorities. We will integrate the new fisheries and naval acoustic and other operational oceanography datasets, adopt JupyterHub in line with what OBIS is doing to support reproducible data work, and roll out map-based spatial discovery tools and dashboards for decision-makers and policymakers across the region. And, very importantly, we will continue to support more African nations in managing their own data, so that more of it flows through AfrOBIS and into OBIS.


Last question: if you had a magic wand and could change one thing about marine biodiversity data in Africa, what would it be?

Tshikana Rasehlomi: A cultural mindset shift: from data ownership to data stewardship. Breaking down data silos, improving institutional willingness to share, and securing the funding needed to digitize historical records, so we can finally unlock the continent’s ocean economic potential. ◼️


→ Explore all AfrOBIS’s data here.
→ Find more info about what an OBIS Node is and how to become an OBIS Node, see https://manual.obis.org/nodes.html#obis-nodes

Members of the OBIS UK team recording sightings for iNaturalistUK, which flows into OBIS. Photo: Marine Biological Association

Nested in one of the world’s richest marine research ecosystems, OBIS UK plays a crucial role in ensuring that the vast amounts of data generated by national institutions get standardized, shared, published, and made globally accessible through OBIS. We spoke with Chloe Figueroa, OBIS UK Data Manager, and Emma Seal, OBIS UK Strategic Project Manager, to learn more about how the Node operates, its role within the UK data landscape, its place within the OBIS Community, and its contribution to global marine biodiversity knowledge.


OBIS: Chloe and Emma, we are very happy to have that conversation with you. For a start, could you briefly present the OBIS UK Node?

Chloe Figueroa: OBIS UK is based at the Marine Biological Association (MBA) in Plymouth, located next to the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. The MBA itself was founded in 1884, and the OBIS UK Node has been based there since its inception in 2018. The Node has not been hosted by another organization. More precisely, the OBIS UK Node is part of the MBA Data Team, which also runs DASSH, the UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data. Together, these infrastructures support the management and sharing of UK marine biodiversity data nationally and globally. The OBIS UK team is constituted of Dan Lear (Node manager and one of the Co-Chairs of the IODE Steering Group for OBIS), Ellen Jones (OBIS UK Data Officer), Kevin Paxman (OBIS UK Data Engineer), Jan Lietava (OBIS UK Junior Data Engineer), Emma Seal and myself.


How is the Node structured and funded?

Chloe Figueroa: There are eight people in the team, but not all posts are full-time. We have two Data Officers, one Senior Data Officer, a Data Manager, a Data Engineer, a Junior Data Engineer, a Strategic Project Manager, and the Head of Data and Information Technology. The team is co-funded by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Scottish Government, and the UK Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN). In addition, we also receive funding through projects and short-term contracts. At the moment, we are involved in two Horizon Europe projects, “Biodiversity Data for Digital Twins of the Ocean”(DTO-BioFlow) and “MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations” (MARCO-BOLO). We also take part in shorter-term projects that come in on a more ad hoc basis, such as offshore wind data architecture mapping, facilitating the archival and publication of statutory monitoring data, supporting assessments and evaluations of marine enhancement mechanisms, and developing and delivering data management training. This support has enabled OBIS UK to develop its presence within the broader UK marine data landscape.


What motivated the creation of the OBIS UK Node?

Chloe Figueroa: OBIS UK has evolved from existing national infrastructures, particularly DASSH, which itself developed from the Marine Life Information Network, MarLIN. Before the creation of the Node, data from the United Kingdom would often remain within national systems, such as MarLIN. One of the main motivations behind the creation of OBIS UK was to ensure that data collected and managed at the national level could be shared on global platforms, such as OBIS and GBIF.

Emma Seal: There was also a broader desire within the UK marine data community to have a formal OBIS Node. Before OBIS UK existed, organizations such as the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) were already publishing marine biodiversity data to EurOBIS and GBIF, but this initiative was not coordinated through a dedicated national Node. We realized that we needed a more coherent and structured approach, where national marine biodiversity data contributions would be better integrated into the UK’s marine research ecosystem. The Marine Biological Association was encouraged to take on this coordination role, as it already had the mandate and infrastructure needed to operate at the national scale and a long-term commitment to sharing marine biodiversity knowledge.

Chloe Figueroa and Dan Lear at the OBIS booth during Living Data 2025 in Bogotá, Colombia. Photo: Marine Biological Association

How does OBIS UK sit within the UK marine research ecosystem today?

Chloe Figueroa: OBIS UK directly builds on the experience, connections, and visibility of the UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data. Our existing involvement in different marine communities and groups, as well as word of mouth, helped the Node to become very well-connected. The Node is recognized by institutions and communities nationally for its capacity to bring national data to the global stage and push the publication of datasets to be shared, rather than simply leaving them archived and left unused.

Emma Seal: Many of our partners already understand the value of OBIS UK, as relationships have been built over time. Discussions are often more focused on resources and efficiency, for example, how accessing standardized data through OBIS can save time and costs.


Are there still marine biodiversity communities or troves of datasets in the UK that are not yet connected to OBIS UK?

Chloe Figueroa: Yes, definitely, there are still gaps. Our recent exercises to map national marine biodiversity data flows have highlighted instances where metadata is available, but the underlying datasets themselves are not yet accessible through OBIS UK. This indicates areas where data does not complete the full journey into our node. We are currently working on facilitating these final steps. Through our work with Defra and the Scottish Government, we have targets to engage with data providers in the industry and academic sectors, as historically these data have been less accessible.

Emma Seal: This is particularly true for citizen science, the importance of which is increasingly recognized in the UK. There are many smaller projects that are not yet connected to larger systems, and sometimes very few people know about them. But overall, connections to our Node are improving. More researchers and project leaders are becoming aware of where their data should go, and they are reaching out to us. The challenge is that these projects often do not have the funding to support the full data publication process.


How do you engage with the different national communities to bring their data into OBIS UK?

Chloe Figueroa: For citizen science, we have focused on outreach by developing a best practice guidance tool for data management, published in 2024, followed by a series of workshops to increase engagement. We also directly reach out to marine citizen science projects across the UK, asking what support they need to submit their data and helping them understand where their data should go. There is one citizen science initiative where we are more closely involved: The Rock Pool Project. We have recently been working with The Rock Pool Project and a wide range of stakeholders in the UK marine citizen science space on a project funded by Natural England, which involves building out resources and platforms for the whole marine citizen science community. This work has included updates to the best practice guidance, a specific training portal with courses and resources, and a community space for exchange. As part of this, we are also involved in the development of the emerging UK marine citizen science network.

When it comes to data mobilization, whatever the community we are addressing, our approach is very straightforward: We want to reduce fragmentation and improve connections. Our engagement efforts with industry and academic groups follow that pattern of targeted support, guidance, and the establishment of clear, multi-step pathways for data integration.

Chloe Figueroa during her presentation "From Shore to Server: Connecting Marine Civic Science to Global Biodiversity Data through DASSH and OBIS UK" at Living Data 2025 in Bogotá, Colombia.

What motivates researchers to go through the standardization effort and the global publication process?

Chloe Figueroa: Data standardization and submission to global platforms are often not planned or funded within projects. In some cases, requirements are embedded into the project’s plan. For example, the Fisheries Industry Science Partnership—a scheme which supports data collection and research for sustainable fisheries management in the UK—as well as commercial wind farm development licensed through The Crown Estate, both require the creation of metadata records as part of their funding agreements.

So we had to develop a specific strategy to boost that motivation. We noticed that explaining to data holders the benefits of publishing to global platforms worked quite well! When they understand that standardization allows their data to be reused and visible, and that their work will be acknowledged, data holders are more prone to make the effort and go through the process of publishing through us. Impact is a strong motivation! This awareness is also a focus in our work with citizen science projects.


For OBIS UK, dealing with multiple data types from so many various sources must be a huge challenge. What strategies has the Node deployed to address that issue, especially when it comes to standardization?

Chloe Figueroa: It is a collaborative process. In most cases, data providers are expected to supply their data in a standardized format, either Darwin Core or the MEDIN format. If it is submitted in MEDIN format, we convert it into Darwin Core during ingestion. The actual challenge resides in getting the submitted data in a standardized format. We provide support through workshops and one-to-one guidance to help people prepare and format their data. Where capacity allows, we also offer data standardization services for a fee. Once we get the data standardized, we can carry out quality assurance, mint a DOI, and create metadata records, all free of charge. All these services we provide accelerate the transition from local data collection to global sharing.


Has OBIS data been used to support UK marine policy or reporting?

Emma Seal: OBIS UK is regularly used as a data source to support the UK Marine Strategy. Because we operate under Open Science principles, usage tracking can be challenging. Asking users how they use data can create barriers. But at the same time, improving our understanding of data use is essential, and it influences how we share the data.

OBIS UK staff serve on several UK panels and expert groups directly linked to the statutory monitoring of the UK marine environment. Our role is to provide guidance and training in data management and ensure the data collected through monitoring activities is archived and published to support effective governance and reporting under UK, European, and international obligations.


Is there a dataset or project within OBIS UK you are particularly proud of?

Chloe Figueroa: Our first eDNA dataset, which we ingested about two years ago. It included around 600,000 occurrences and significantly increased our total number of records. That dataset presented numerous technical challenges, particularly in formatting the data into Darwin Core. To me, this project perfectly illustrates OBIS UK’s involvement in contributing to advancing marine biodiversity data standards and technologies.

Emma Seal: From a project perspective, MARCO-BOLO stands out. It is a collaborative effort focused on improving data flow and integration across organizations. It reflects the broader work OBIS UK does across projects, strengthening systems and improving the quality and accessibility of data.


Do you collaborate with other OBIS Nodes, and what does being part of the OBIS community mean to you?

Chloe Figueroa: Historically, we worked closely with EurOBIS, as UK national data flowed through it before the creation of the OBIS UK Node. Now that our national data goes directly from OBIS UK to OBIS, we mostly work together with EurOBIS on solving legacy issues. We now collaborate with other OBIS Nodes through projects, like the MARCO-BOLO project that Emma cited. Beyond these collaborations, the links with the OBIS Community are crucial. Being part of the OBIS Coordination Groups, interacting with other Nodes on technical and governance issues, shows that many of the challenges we face are shared. That is reassuring and allows us to learn from each other. It also reinforces the feeling that our work is indeed part of a greater global effort, rather than something isolated to the UK.

The OBIS UK team doing a rock pool survey. Photo: Marine Biological Association

OBIS: What is on OBIS UK’s horizon?

Emma Seal: We have recently renewed our core funding with Defra and the Scottish Government for the next three years, alongside continued support from MEDIN. Our focus is now on continuing to strengthen collaborations, improving data flow and quality, and supporting the UK marine data community, including with citizen science. We are also extending our expertise to new sectors in the marine environment, such as offshore wind, for example.


If you could change one thing about marine biodiversity data in the UK, what would it be?

Chloe Figueroa: I would want everyone to know where data should go. The system is complex, with many organizations and pathways. If people understood that landscape better from the start, it would improve data flow significantly.

Emma Seal: I would like a better understanding of how data is used once they are shared. This would help improve tools and processes, and help us demonstrate the real impact of the data that we share.


→ Explore all OBIS UK’s data here.
→ Find more info about what an OBIS Node is and how to become an OBIS Node, see https://manual.obis.org/nodes.html#obis-nodes

The first Biodiversity Monitoring Week (BioMonWeek 2026), taking place in Montpellier, France, from 4 to 8 May, is a milestone for biodiversity monitoring in Europe. Co-organized by Biodiversa+, GBIF, MARCO-BOLO, BioAgora, and the Alliance for Nature, the event brings together over 400 participants across disciplines and realms. It’s designed as a recurring biennial conference with a specific focus on European monitoring needs and priorities, as well as a platform to promote collaboration, share best practices, and celebrate achievements.

OBIS is contributing to BioMonWeek through Horizon Europe’s MARCO-BOLO project, where the infrastructure is involved in Work Package 1 (Data and metadata standards for EOV data streams), Work Package 2 (Monitoring through eDNA), and co-leads Work Package 6 on stakeholder engagement. Supported by Lisa Benedetti (OBIS Stakeholder Engagement Officer), WP6 has contributed to shaping the marine biodiversity component of BioMonWeek, involving several members of the OBIS Community: Emilie Boulanger (OBIS eDNA Science Officer), Steve Formel (OBIS Data Officer), Dan Lear (OBIS Node Manager and OBIS SG Co-Chair), Pieter Provoost (OBIS Data Manager), and Elizabeth Lawrence (OBIS Training Officer, not present in person).

The OBIS contributions to BioMonWeek will focus on three main themes spread across workshops, sessions, presentations, and discussions:

- publishing marine data across networks;
- environmental DNA, from method to monitoring;
- building the marine biodiversity data infrastructure: tools, metadata, and derived products.

You will find below the MARCO BOLO / OBIS-contributed sessions at BioMonWeek, first organized thematically, then, at the end of the article, chronologically. You can follow the hashtag #BioMonWeek2026 on your favorite social media channels for live updates.

1- Publishing marine data across networks

DT08: Parallel Publishing to GBIF and OBIS: Streamlining Marine Biodiversity Data Sharing
A talk by Steve Formel, contributed by Elizabeth Lawrence.
Tuesday 5 May, 11:30-12:30
This talk features the best practices for publishing marine datasets simultaneously to OBIS and GBIF, with practical guidance on the IPT, WoRMS alignment, and harmonizing workflows across networks.

DT07: Standardizing and sharing survey and monitoring data through GBIF and OBIS
A session co-convened by Kate Ingenloff and Dan Lear.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-17:30, Room Joffre G.

MR12: Mobilizing marine biodiversity monitoring data
A session convened by Dan Lear.
Thursday 7 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Barthez.

2- Environmental DNA, from method to monitoring

MM01: Getting kick-started with eDNA-based methods
A workshop featuring Émilie Boulanger as the co-leader of a discussion table.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-18:00.

eDNAqua-Plan recommendations towards a future of federated, curated reference libraries and aligned eDNA (meta)data publishing infrastructure and practices
A poster by Émilie Boulanger, contributed by Katrina Exter, Joana Pauperio, Saara Suominen, Pieter Provoost, Frédéric Rimet, Antonio Picazo, Antonio Camacho, Camila Babo, Joana Verissimo, Veera Norros, Pascal Hablützel, Christina Pavloudi, Kristian Meissner, and Peter Woollard.
Tuesday 5 May, 15:30-16:30, poster session.
This poster presents the eDNAqua-Plan project’s recommendations and emerging blueprint for the curated reference systems and interoperable infrastructure needed to integrate eDNA into routine aquatic monitoring.

eDNA05: Conservation-related eDNA applications
A session convened by Émilie Boulanger.
Thursday 7 May, 09:00-10:00.

DT03: Environmental DNA survey data publication, management, and interoperability
A session co-convened by Birgit Gemeinholzer, Steve Formel, Pieter Provoost, and Rasa Bukontaite.
Thursday 7 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 1.

3- Building the infrastructure: tools, metadata, and derived products

Understanding EBVs and EOVs
An interactive session co-convened by Lina Mtwana Nordlund, Guillaume Body, and Lisa Benedetti.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-18:00
This interactive session introduces Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as key frameworks for monitoring ocean and biodiversity change. We will briefly present what EOVs and EBVs are, how they are used, and why they matter for observation, assessment, and decision-making. The session will then explore where these frameworks potentially overlap, how they complement and reinforce each other, and how closer alignment can strengthen biodiversity monitoring across marine systems. The session concludes with facilitated discussions to exchange perspectives, experiences, and ideas for improved integration.

DT05: Tools for data use, curation, and management

A session co-convened by Andrew Rodrigues, Dan Lear, and Wouter Addink
This session includes a presentation by Dan Lear on Tools and resources for the marine biodiversity community, powered by EMODnet Biology, contributed by Joana Beja, Leen Vandepitte, Tobias Büring, Benjamin Weigel, Marina Lipizer, Bart Vanhoorne, and the EMODnet Biology consortium, showcasing fifteen years of EMODnet Biology services, including the BioCheck quality control tool, two R packages for data access, and freely available training materials. Wednesday 6 May, 09:00-11:00, Room Sully 2.

DT02: Data Workflows and Pipelines for WorkFlowHub
A session co-convened by Sandra MacFadyen and Steve Formel, including the presentation A Dream of a Lean Marine Metadata Machine by Steve Formel, contributed by Dan Lear, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Katrina Exter, Chloe Figueroa, Paolo Tagliolato, and Pieter Provoost.
Wednesday 6 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 2.
This talk presents MARCO-BOLO WP 1’s experimental metadata catalogue, built on LinkML and free infrastructure, exploring how rich and reusable biodiversity metadata can become.

PP05: The landscape of EU monitoring projects
A cluster event including the flash talk Barriers to FAIR and the MARCO-BOLO Approach by Dan Lear.
Wednesday 6 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 2.

DT11: How to handle derived data products and outputs for EBVs and EOVs
A session co-convened by Wiebke Pressé, Dan Lear, Guillaume Body, and Steve Formel. Wednesday 6 May, 16:30-17:30, Room Sully 2.

The OBIS contributions at BioMOnWeek at a glance

Tuesday 5 May
11:30-12:30 | DT08 | Parallel Publishing to GBIF and OBIS: Streamlining Marine Biodiversity Data Sharing
15:30-16:30 | Poster session | eDNAqua-Plan recommendations towards a future of federated, curated reference libraries and aligned eDNA (meta)data publishing infrastructure and practices
16:30-17:30 | DT07, Room Joffre G | Standardizing and sharing survey and monitoring data through GBIF and OBIS
16:30-18:00 | MM01 Workshop | Getting kick-started with eDNA-based methods
16:30-18:00 | MM02 Workshop | Understanding EBVs and EOVs

Wednesday 6 May
09:00-11:00 | DT05, Room Sully 2 | Tools for data use, curation, and management
11:30-12:30 | DT02, Room Sully 2 | Data Workflows and Pipelines for WorkFlowHub
11:30-12:30 | PP05 Cluster Event, Room Sully 2 | The landscape of EU monitoring projects
16:30-17:30 | DT11, Room Sully 2 | How to handle derived data products and outputs for EBVs and EOVs

Thursday 7 May
09:00-10:00 | eDNA05 | Conservation-related eDNA applications
11:30-12:30 | DT03, Room Sully 1 | Environmental DNA survey data publication, management and interoperability
11:30-12:30 | MR12, Room Barthez | Mobilizing marine biodiversity monitoring data

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath, IndOBIS Node Manager (left, grey shirt), and Johnny Konjarla, IndOBIS Data Manager (second from left, orange shirt), lead a field demonstration of the OceanEyes citizen science app during student outreach activities in coastal India, in March 2026. Photo: CMLRE

IndOBIS, the OBIS Node for the Indian Ocean, coordinates marine biodiversity data from across the entire basin, the third-largest ocean after the Pacific and the Atlantic, holding almost 20% of water on Earth’s surface. The Indian Ocean is home to ecologically significant coral reef systems and some of the most biologically rich and diverse waters in the world. We spoke with Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath, IndOBIS Node Manager, and Johnny Konjarla, IndOBIS Data Manager, to learn more about how the Node’s structure and operations, its role in the national marine data landscape, its engagement with researchers and citizens, and its place within the wider OBIS Community.


OBIS: Dear Hashim and Johnny, it’s a pleasure to have this talk with you! Could you introduce us to IndOBIS?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: We are delighted to be here! IndOBIS is the OBIS Node for the Indian Ocean, hosted at the Center for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, which is our funder. The Node office and our data infrastructure are located in Kochi, Kerala, on the southwestern coast of India. We are currently two staff members: Johnny, who is the IndOBIS data manager and has been at that post since 2017, and I, the Node manager, directly attached to the Ministry of Earth Sciences. IndOBIS’s role is mainly to aggregate data from a wide range of providers, with a strong focus on ministry-funded projects. We standardize these datasets and publish them into OBIS, to make that data globally accessible.

Johnny Konjarla: Maybe I can add a bit of historical context to complete that picture! Back in the early 2000’s, IndOBIS started as part of the Census of Marine Life. After the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO integrated OBIS, our Node moved to CMLRE, directly translating a shift in India’s strategic priorities in marine management and conservation. Then, in 2022, building on this foundation, IndOBIS, like most OBIS nodes, officially became an Associate Data Unit (ADU) under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program of IOC. We collaborate closely with India’s IODE National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), hosted at the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), which serves as India’s official repository for national oceanographic data. Both CMLRE and INCOIS operate under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Aerial view of the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, India, host institution of IndOBIS and a national centre for marine biodiversity research.
Photo: CMLRE

What drove the creation of IndOBIS?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: India is a very large ocean-facing country, with a coastline of over 11,000 km and a 2.3 million square kilometers of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Each year, India runs hundreds of marine-related scientific projects across different ministries. Before the creation of IndOBIS, and especially in the pre-digital era, this resulted in major data silos, with marine information being scattered across many institutions and locked there. One major driver to create IndOBIS was to completely reorganize the national marine data landscape and streamline the many data flows into a clear pathway, under the common objective to make that data accessible to all.

Johnny Konjarla: A coordinated and well-structured marine biodiversity data landscape is fundamental for India. It reinforces our country’s capacity to contribute and play a significant role in global frameworks like the Convention on Biological Diversity and the BBNJ Agreement. It supports national data needs for ocean conservation and management, as well as the sustainable use of marine resources to sustain the development of our blue economy.


How does IndOBIS sit within the Indian marine research ecosystem today?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: IndOBIS operates in a complex ecosystem, with numerous and very diverse sources producing data on marine life. Beyond the state-funded projects we already talked about, universities and research institutions also produce marine biodiversity data. We also try to aggregate local and traditional knowledge about marine species occurrences. Our efforts focus on getting all that data published globally into OBIS.


What are the biggest challenges regarding the marine biodiversity data landscape in India today?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: There are many ongoing challenges. The country’s size, its long coastline, and the huge number of institutions involved in collecting marine biodiversity data make coordination a perpetual challenge. India aims to become a regional driver for marine biodiversity issues. To take up this role, we need to maintain our position at the forefront of marine data-related issues, from integrating emerging data types and including local and traditional knowledge into global data platforms to promoting the ownership of data providers, especially in the case of local and traditional knowledge. We are deploying efforts to aggregate this crucial source of biodiversity information that enriches scientific observations. A good example is the mudbank phenomenon that can be observed in Kerala, where specific coastal areas attract large fish aggregations at very particular times of year. This is localized ecological knowledge with a clear scientific basis, but it currently sits outside data collection pipelines. Capturing this kind of knowledge, in all its diversity, and making it interoperable with global standards, is one of our key challenges.

Johnny Konjarla: We need both technical solutions and a cultural shift towards open and standardized data practices. We need to strengthen our efforts in reducing data fragmentation at local and national levels, and increasing the adoption of recognized data standards by data providers. Additionally, some providers still show reluctance to share their data, and, in some cases, will only do so based on personal relationships rather than national efforts. We need to maintain our efforts in explaining the benefits of data sharing, especially addressing the specific ownership and recognition issues.

FORV Sagar Sampada, a multidisciplinary fisheries and oceanographic research vessel managed by CMLRE, supports marine biodiversity surveys and oceanographic research across the Indian Ocean.
Photo: CMLRE

How do you incentivize local data holders, whether they are researchers or communities, to publish their data through IndOBIS?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: Initially, we worked primarily with projects that were funded by the Ministry of Earth Science. We required systematic data sharing and publication to OBIS through IndOBIS. That initial engagement served as our starting point for broader collaboration with the research community. We used it as a positive example to get more contributors on board. We organized dozens of workshops across India focusing on the benefits of data sharing. One of the key points was to explain that publishing to OBIS maintains data ownership while increasing recognition for data providers and their hosting institutions.

There is also a more formal channel that brings data to IndOBIS. When researchers publish a new species or a new record, they are required to deposit a type specimen, such as a paratype or a holotype, at a nationally or internationally recognized referral center, like CMLRE. Many researchers now voluntarily deposit their physical samples at our referral center and share their associated data through IndOBIS. It is almost a natural pairing: the specimens stay with us, and the associated data becomes globally accessible through OBIS.

Johnny Konjarla: Because of the size of our country and the diversity of the potential data providers, we had to deploy several approaches. We organized capacity-building workshops online and in person, but we also participated in conferences and outreach events across the country. These efforts were crucial to create trust bonds with entire communities and increase the visibility of IndOBIS. All of that engagement increased contributions: IndOBIS published 1,14,000 records, with 10,000 added in the last three years.

We mainly position ourselves as facilitators, supporting researchers to mobilize and publish their data on OBIS. We have developed dedicated, streamlined technical processes to help them format and curate their data to make it fit for publication. We also realized that rather than imposing strict requirements, focusing on showing the value of data sharing yielded better results: We encourage researchers to publish their scientific results first and then share their datasets with us afterward. And we are now concentrating our efforts on data from emerging observation techniques, such as environmental DNA, which brings its own challenges.

The snowflake moray eel, Echidna nebulosa, documented during underwater biodiversity surveys in Lakshadweep Islands during 2018.
Photo: CMLRE

Do you still have local communities in India you have not yet connected with?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: Thanks to our efforts, we covered a lot of the public scientific communities. We are now focusing on Non-Governmental Organizations working in the marine field in India, and on data generated through citizen science initiatives. This is part of our Node’s priorities. We recently organized a student workshop with theoretical sessions and field work focusing on OceanEyes, an Indian app gathering marine life observations from citizens.


Could you tell us more about Ocean Eyes and how IndOBIS is involved?

Johnny Konjarla: Absolutely! Ocean Eyes is a citizen science mobile application we developed to document marine biodiversity across India. The idea originated with our former node manager, Saravanane Narayanane. Our team was closely involved in conceptualizing and designing the application. The principle is very straightforward: Users record observations through photos or videos, and add metadata such as location or habitat. A team of taxonomic experts curates all the collected data before publishing it to OBIS.

We just published a paper about the app and what it means for marine life observations in India. Our idea is to enable anyone in India to contribute marine life observations through a simple and accessible platform. Given the scale and diversity of the country, we aim to make the application more inclusive and user-friendly. This includes plans to integrate AI-assisted species identification and support for additional languages to broaden participation. Citizen science is extremely important for the vast country that is India. Traditional marine surveys alone cannot cover all our scientific needs. Educating and engaging citizens about the need for ocean biodiversity observations will eventually enable more data publication. These efforts also give people a sense of ownership and involvement, while raising awareness about marine conservation.

Screenshots of the landing page and home page of the OceanEyes app.
Image: OceanEyes

Let’s shift away from the citizens’ perspective to focus on authorities and decision-makers: how was IndOBIS data used to support Indian marine policy or reporting?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: IndOBIS data is directly used to answer parliamentary questions. Members of the Parliament send us explicit questions related to marine life, conservation, or management, and IndOBIS is bound to respond. This places our Node firmly within India’s policy-making process, as a direct source of national decisions.

IndOBIS data also feeds into the Indian Deep Ocean Mission, a major national program with a total value of over US$450 million. One of its core sections is dedicated specifically to marine biodiversity data generation, and IndOBIS contributes directly to it. And of course, we are also actively involved in processes related to the BBNJ.


Is there a dataset or project within IndOBIS that you are particularly proud of?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: I’m proud of a collective effort: the data mobilization that we achieved, with contributions from many different sources across India. It is not only the work of the IndOBIS Node Manager or Data Manager. It’s a national effort, uniting communities, institutions, and regions.

Johnny Konjarla: From my perspective as Data Manager, there are a few datasets standing out. My first dataset, which I standardized from our in-house program, the Resource Exploration and Inventorisation System, and published into OBIS, was an important milestone for me. Then, a DNA-derived dataset of Kogia breviceps. It consists of only a single record, but it has significant value because I felt I could handle diverse and emerging data types, such as molecular and eDNA data, within the IndOBIS framework. Again, a huge milestone. Finally, I would like to highlight the Ocean Eyes project as something I am very proud of.


Do you collaborate with other OBIS nodes, and what does being part of the OBIS community mean to you?

Johnny Konjarla: Through the different OBIS coordination groups, we have had the opportunity to interact with many nodes. We have discussed common challenges and shared best practices. Being part of the OBIS community is invaluable: it allows for this exchange and helps us improve our work.

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: We would very much like to strengthen collaboration, especially within the Indian Ocean region. We are ready to support other Nodes, whether technically or to help address training needs. We are keen to develop more direct, Node-to-Node collaborations. We also consider how IndOBIS could act as a Node for countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, drastically increasing local data contributions from the region to the world.


What other plans are on IndOBIS’s horizon?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: We are preparing our next development stage. In India, ministry-led initiatives such as IndOBIS undergo funding and planning cycles that are five years long. For the next cycle, which starts in September 2026, we have set new ambitions for IndOBIS. We aim to better align with national marine priorities by expanding our activities and strengthening data mobilization across the country. To achieve that, we will increase our task force and capacity. Expanding the team is a priority!


Last question: If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about marine biodiversity data in India, what would it be?

Dr Hashim Manjebrayakath: I would make it so that every single piece of biodiversity data generated in India would be known to IndOBIS. That would be fantastic!

Johnny Konjarla: I would systematically include data sharing as part of the requirement for research funding. Every project would include a clear data management plan from the proposal stage, specifying how and when data will be shared. I would also make sure that funding agencies ensure accountability by linking data submission to project outcomes. All of this for the common good, to significantly improve data accessibility, reuse, and overall impact. ◼️

Scientists and ship crew recover CalBOBL (Bongo) net.
Photo: NOAA Fisheries / James Wilkinson

Turning decades of historical marine life records into standardized and FAIR data is a massive, but crucial challenge. Long-term data series on marine biodiversity are unique scientific assets that can help us understand how the ocean is changing. Making the CalCOFI Fish Larvae & Egg Tows dataset available through OBIS was made possible with a joint effort between the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI), the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), and OBIS. The result is a Darwin Core-formatted dataset spanning 1951 to 2023, covering an area located mainly across the California Current, and containing 463,655 occurrence records, 610,816 measurements and facts, and observations of 539 species, accessible here.

The challenge of making long-term marine biodiversity data accessible

Long-term ecological datasets on the scale of the CalCOFI Fish Larvae & Egg Tows are scientifically invaluable because they provide the historical baselines needed to understand how marine ecosystems respond to environmental change. But such datasets remain rare. Although fisheries institutions worldwide hold some of the richest long-term marine life data ever collected, much of this information can be difficult to discover and access due to limited publishing capacity, lack of standardization, institutional dependence, or reluctance to share material that could be commercially sensitive. Before its integration into OBIS, the CalCOFI fish larvae and egg data was openly accessible, but needed to be further standardized to be findable, interoperable, and reusable by all.

“We discussed with the GOOS team on using CalCOFI’s marine biodiversity datasets as a blueprint for integrating long-term observing data within the Essential Ocean Variables framework,” explains Erin Satterthwaite, CalCOFI Coordinator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. “We chose that specific larval fish dataset because it is one of the longest-running in the program.” With its decades of richly detailed records, the CalCOFI Fish Larvae & Egg Tows dataset was a natural fit for supporting the Fish Abundance and Distribution of the BioEco Essential Ocean Variables (BioEco EOVs).

A researcher sorting a sample collected from the Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler (CUFES). CUFES samples are collected during transits between CalCOFI stations to see which fish species are spawning throughout the CalCOFI survey pattern.
Photo: NOAA Fisheries / Angela Klemmedson

The first phase involved a collaboration with the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) to make the CalCOFI datasets findable online. “After that, we wanted to step up and have our data directly integrated into OBIS, to make it fully and globally FAIR,” says Erin Satterthwaite. Standardising, quality-checking, and transforming a long-term historical dataset containing more than 400,000 occurrences into FAIR and trusted data is not a small task, especially when the goal is to create a reproducible publication workflow. “One of the huge challenges to solve remains to standardize formats, naming conventions, and structure across data spanning from the pre-digital to digital era, explains Erin Satterthwaite.

“That standardization process began with sorting the data and organizing it, with much of this groundwork done by Ed Weber, data manager at NOAA,” explains Ben Best, marine data scientist at Ocean Metrics LLC (formerly EcoQuants LLC). “From that point on, we could focus on restructuring the data to streamline the standardization process.” Originally, the dataset had a hierarchical sampling structure nested across several levels: cruise, site (spatial coordinates), tow (time), net, and, finally, individual species observations. To make the data more usable, the team restructured it into two main event levels in Darwin Core: Cruise-level Events, to capture the overall sampling context; and Net Sample Events, representing the individual sampling actions at specific locations and times. The team then used the ExtendedMeasurementOrFact (eMoF) extension of Darwin Core to attach additional measurements and contextual information, and built a standardized vocabulary to describe the observed fish egg and larva stages. At that stage, the dataset was ready to be published into OBIS.

Overview of the data structure reorganization.

Beyond the dataset itself, the publication process of CalCOFI Fish Larvae & Egg Tows offers a reproducible path for turning biodiversity data held institutionally into globally accessible information. “From the start, we wanted this publication process to OBIS to be a template that could be applied to other use cases,” says Erin Satterthwaite. “We wanted to provide a clear pathway for how long-term datasets can contribute to EOVs and the Global Ocean Observing System. It was amazing to see what can happen when you get the right people working together: I am really grateful for the GOOS, OBIS, ODIS teams, and all the ones who helped us navigate that process.” The teams involved were tightly focused on a common objective: ensuring that these long-term observations could eventually be published for global use. “We really wanted to support the CalCOFI team to unleash the full potential of their data,” says Elizabeth Lawrence, OBIS Training Officer. “We brought into this project our know-how and experience in structuring Core tables and organizing nested Events.” The workflow, fully available through CalCOFI.io, is designed to be transparent, transposable, and reproducible, offering a ready-to-use path for other institutions looking to publish long-term biodiversity observations through OBIS.

More data to come

CalCOFI holds numerous long-term datasets on marine life from microbes to megafauna, such as seabirds, marine mammals, plankton, and eDNA data, which document biodiversity patterns and change in the California Current marine ecosystem. Many of these datasets could progressively be integrated into OBIS through a similar pipeline. There is also potential to link CalCOFI’s physical and biogeochemical data streams with its biological observations, creating an integrated long-term dataset that connects multiple components of the California Current ecosystem. “Getting CalCOFI datasets standardized and more broadly shared is a bellwether for how science is changing, explains Steve Formel, OBIS Data Officer. “AI tools and global models are only as good as the data they rely on. This is exactly what platforms like OBIS and standards like Darwin Core were built for.”

“No single institution can build the integrated global picture we need,” explains Ana Lara-Lopez, Lead Science Officer for the GOOS Biology and Ecosystems Expert Panel. “But combining observations, long-term records, and a shared commitment to open, standardized FAIR data allows us to move closer to a system that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is exactly the vision the EOV framework was built for.” The successful integration of the CalCOFI Fish Larvae & Egg Tows dataset into OBIS illustrates the value of the global marine biodiversity data chain in two important ways. First, it highlights the role of global data platforms in integrating and making large local datasets accessible to all. Second, it shows how sustained collaboration can transform locally-stored observations into standardized global information that supports research, modeling, global biodiversity frameworks, national assessment and reports, marine management, and ocean conservation. This achievement by CalCOFI, GOOS, and OBIS demonstrates how collaboration enables complex, but essential, marine life data to become available to all. ◼️

A micro-CT scan of Hexaplex trunculus, the banded dye-murex, one of two species at the centre of MedOBIS's innovative morphological dataset.

Emerging data types often pose challenges for repositories in terms of management, standardization, and integration. MedOBIS, the OBIS Node for the Mediterranean, proposed a solution for this challenge and published its first-ever Darwin Core-formatted dataset that included micro-Computed Tomography Morphological image-derived information, along with biodiversity and environmental data on two species, Chondrilla nucula and Hexaplex trunculus.

The MACCIMO project—Multi-level Approaches to Assess Climate Change Impact on Marine Organisms—investigates how climate change affects sessile marine invertebrates through a multipronged strategy that integrates multiple scientific approaches. This project was funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the “2nd Call for HFRI Research Projects to support Faculty Members & Researchers” (Project Number: 3280). Sessile marine invertebrates are particularly sensitive to climate-related stressors due to their limited mobility and their inability to escape adverse environmental conditions. As part of experimentally simulated climate change scenarios, one of the project’s aims was to investigate potential morphological changes in two species: the chicken-liver sponge (Chondrilla nucula, a sessile sponge permanently attached to the substrate) and the banded dye-murex (Hexaplex trunculus, a medium-sized, low mobility sea snail historically famous for its use in creating purple and blue dyes). By examining how the morphology of these species responds to simulated climate stressors, the project aims to identify traits that can serve as indicators of environmental change.

To conduct these investigations, the project’s team performed three-dimensional analyses using micro-Computed Tomographic (micro-CT) scans. Microtomography is a non-destructive imaging technique based on X-Rays, allowing the creation of high-resolution three-dimensional data. Once generated, these 3D datasets had to be prepared and organised for publication. Making such observations available as open, interoperable data upgrades their actionability: standardised 3D morphological records can be compared, combined with data from other institutions, and reused globally. “From the start, we aimed to make the image data of the project available and accessible to all,” says Dimitra Mavraki, MedOBIS Node Manager. The process was a first for the team and required creative thinking.

The MedOBIS team first focused on understanding micro-computed tomography and the data associated with that imaging technology. The team approached Darwin Core compliance using a hierarchical schema, starting with the sampling data and curation process data. “We used an Event core, where the parent event represents the sampling event, and a child event represents the documentation of specimens in the internal micro-CT library. Each specimen was then represented through an Occurrence extension linked to these events,” says Dimitra Mavraki. She goes on to explain that the team’s goal was to publish the quantitative outputs derived from micro-CT analyses alongside the biological occurrences, so they had to capture the micro-CT–derived parameters using the extended MeasurementOrFact (eMoF) extension. Using the eMoF extension allowed them to express each derived measurement in a standard, machine-readable manner while remaining within Darwin Core standards.

Additionally, the team mobilized persistent internal micro-CT library identifiers to maintain traceability and consistency across systems, where the parentEventID reflects the event type “Sample Documentation”, while the eventID reflects the scan event type “MicroCT_Scan.” Each ID is included in both the eventID and occurrenceID names. Finally, the MedOBIS team applied the OBIS Quality Assessment and Quality Control steps before publishing.

Overview of the event hierarchy through the publishing process.

Working hands-on with micro-CT data helped MedOBIS to highlight several challenges in data curation and management. Unlike with biodiversity data, micro-CT datasets still lack widely adopted metadata standards. In addition, their large file sizes make data organization and long-term storage more demanding. For this reason, the actual micro-CT image files are not uploaded directly to OBIS. Instead, within the OBIS dataset, these 3D resources are referenced by maintaining the relevant micro-CT identifiers (SampleID/ScanID) in the eventID field to ensure consistency at this stage. The long-term objective of MedOBIS is to link these 3D resources directly through their URLs.

3D volume rendering of Marphysa victori

Yet, this milestone felt like a natural step forward. “Micro-CT technology has been used at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, the Institution hosting MedOBIS, for many years,” says Dimitra Mavraki. “We knew that the technology had the potential to enrich the datasets we publish, and create new opportunities for research, comparison, education, and future technological applications”. She explains that until now, such scans were hosted in a dedicated online platform featuring a collection of annotated 3D specimens that users can explore interactively. Bringing these resources to MedOBIS opens new possibilities for connecting morphological research with global biodiversity data networks and sharing it with the world.

The team sees this first publication as a proof-of-concept for micro-CT specimen imaging within OBIS, successfully demonstrating that imaging-derived outputs can be standardized and made FAIR. Their new objective? Automate and scale the process to publish into OBIS all the specimens entering the micro-CT library of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. When asked if she has advice for OBIS Nodes who want to explore new data formats, Dimitra has no hesitation: “Explore new data types, even if stepping into unfamiliar territory can be challenging. It is incredibly rewarding. Working with new kinds of data pushes us to think differently, collaborate more closely, and develop solutions that benefit the wider scientific community. In the end, these efforts not only advance our infrastructures but also make our work more meaningful and impactful,” she concludes. ◼️

The global need for standardised seagrass monitoring and reporting

Seagrass data is collected and reported using different methods and formats, varying from project to project and region to region. This lack of global coordination results in a patchwork of hard-to-compare observations, preventing most of the datasets from being submitted to global biodiversity information platforms such as OBIS. It also deprives scientists and decision-makers of the capacity to generate insights for research and evidence-based action. “Most of the studies done on seagrasses were on small scales, for very specific local purposes,” explains Emmett Duffy, Chief Scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian MarineGEO program and the lead author of the paper. “Until about 20 years ago, seagrasses didn’t have the high profile of coral reefs or mangroves.”

The 2015 Paris Agreement amplified the policy relevance of seagrass data. “Parties could now integrate seagrass habitats in their Nationally Determined Contributions, which created an incentive to map them,” Duffy continues. “Later, when the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, seagrass meadows fell within the scope of one of the headline indicators for Target 2 ‘Extent of natural ecosystems’, again highlighting their recognized role in global biodiversity monitoring.” For coastal nations, monitoring seagrass extent is becoming a key component of national biodiversity reporting under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.



Close up of a Posidonia oceanica rhizome. Photo: Dimitris Poursanidis

Seagrasses as an Essential Ocean Variable

The establishment of “Seagrass cover and composition” as a BioEco EOV, along with the resulting requirement to integrate these variables into OBIS, encouraged a need for a globally accepted observation method of seagrasses. BioEco EOVs are a core set of measurements needed to observe the state of the ocean and monitor its changes through key variables, from microbes to mangroves. BioEco EOVs are defined and coordinated by GOOS and operationalized by OBIS, as their designated data repository. GOOS provides a common framework of EOVs that allows scientists worldwide to compare results and measure changes in the Ocean state. OBIS provides the data backbone that sustains and makes them standardized and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), allowing for cross-scale connection from local datasets to global indicators. To achieve full operationalization of the EOVs, collaboration with communities is essential, as Ana Lara Lopez, Lead Science Officer at the GOOS BioEco Panel, explains: “We continuously work with observing communities to ensure that the proposed approaches for marine biodiversity monitoring meet local and global needs. The seagrass community has fully embraced this approach.”

A standardisation process that takes into account local contexts

In their paper, Duffy et al., in consulation with the broader community, propose three core subvariables for the seagrass EOV: percentage cover (the seafloor proportion covered by seagrass at the quadrat scale), species composition (which species are present; what is their relative abundance), and areal extent (the total area of seagrass meadows at a given location at the landscape scale). The authors also propose a pragmatic, tiered approach for seagrass observations: high quality, medium quality, and minimum acceptable data. “Most biodiversity in the world occurs in developing countries, and, often, the places that need data the most have little scientific or institutional capacity,” Duffy observes. “One of our guiding principles was to make the observation process as simple as possible, down to ‘is there seagrass in that location or not?’ If we manage to collect large amounts of this basic yet robust data, it’s a win for seagrasses and science.” Such an approach would also leverage local knowledge: Duffy points to citizen science apps like the Seagrass Spotter, developed by Project Seagrass in the UK, as an example of how even minimum-level observations, such as species presence recorded by someone snorkeling, can contribute to the global picture.

The proposed guidelines for monitoring and reporting seagrasses have three major benefits:
They allow for remaining flexible and taking into account local ecological contexts and the biological variations of the 72 currently recognized seagrass species; they link fine-scale in-field measurements with remote-sensing observations; they can be made fully compatible with Darwin Core standards. This last point is crucial to ensure total interoperability of the data at local and global scales, from fine-scale measurements in the field to satellite-based observations. One question remains open: what to do with seagrass observation legacy data? “In principle, as long as you know what species was found in this place on this date, it can be published to OBIS,” Duffy says. Although he is realistic about the effort involved: “This is going to need case-specific approaches, and will require funding, and certainly a lot of time and dedication from the community.”

Seafloor view of a seaieass meadow in Greece. Photo: Dimitris Poursanidis

Data integration through Darwin Core

Translation of seagrass observations into an OBIS-ready format is achieved through three interlinked tables formatted in Darwin Core, as explained in the paper: an Event table, an Occurrence table and a table for Extended Measurements or Facts.

The Event table provides the sampling context: each row is a sampling event and includes the decimal latitude/longitude, date, and a unique eventID field. The Event table also carries metadata such as the sampling protocol used, the depth of the observation, the type of habitat, the dataset name, and the type of data-sharing license.
→ You can read more about the OBIS generic dataset structure in this part of the OBIS Manual.
→ You can read more about the Event table in this part of the OBIS Manual.

The Occurrence table informs on the species observed during an event, and each row represents a species occurrence with its scientific name validated against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), using a Life Science Identifier (LSID). The table records whether the species was present or absent, how the observation was made, and who recorded it.
→ You can read more about the Occurrence table in this part of the OBIS Manual.

Finally, the Extended Measurement or Fact (EMoF) table harbours the quantitative seagrass EOV data. This table integrates biological variables (percentage cover, shoot density, shoot length, and canopy height) with physical and biochemical variables (water temperature, salinity, for example). Each measurement in the EMoF table links to both an eventID and an occurrenceID to provide the most comprehensive context possible for each observation. All the measurement types and units match the controlled vocabularies established by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). eventID and occurrenceID fields act as the shared links that interconnect the three tables.
→ You can read more about the EMoF table in this part of the OBIS Manual
→ Read more about identifiers in this part of the OBIS Manual

The tables are submitted for publication to OBIS as a package via an Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT), ensuring in the process that all metadata is included, describing the datasets as a whole, using the Ecological Metadata Language (EML) standard.
→ You can read more about IPTs in this part of the OBIS Manual.

Data ownership and quality control

To ensure data ownership, traceability, and contributors’ recognition, OBIS can assign a DOI to the dataset. Because the datasets are published via IPT, they undergo OBIS’s systematic quality assessment and quality control process, ensuring that potential mistakes, abnormalities, or inconsistencies in the data are flagged before publication and corrected. “A key goal of the EOVs is to make ocean data public and shareable with as little friction as possible,” says Duffy. “Collaborating with the OBIS Secretariat ensured that seagrass data would flow smoothly and accurately into OBIS, making it available to everyone.”

The impact of publishing standardized seagrass data could be massive. From an OBIS perspective, this would bring on the platform a stream of FAIR, traceable, quality-controlled seagrass data from field observations that could be mobilized for ground-truthing remote sensing products and improving models. This new data would also contribute to strengthening evidence-based national assessments and would better support evidence-based decision-making, especially at the regional level. For communities of seagrass researchers and local monitoring initiatives, publishing standardized data to OBIS allows for increased visibility and recognition, as well as a guarantee of data ownership even through downstream transformations. For Duffy, there is no doubt that these guidelines can boost available global information on seagrass and increase collaboration between communities involved: “Let’s work together to make our seagrass data accessible and useful to all,” he concludes.

Do you want to learn more about publishing data to OBIS? Our publishing tutorial series on YouTube walks you through the process step by step!

For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026, we sat down to discuss with Emilie Boulanger, an early-career scientist who joined the OBIS team in March 2024 as a scientific officer. Emilie is supporting the eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028, a community-driven project that aims to establish a global biomolecular observatory of 25 marine sites. Her work is at the intersection of data analysis, field implementation, and community engagement. In this conversation, Emilie shares insights on her path into marine science, her role within eDNA Expeditions, and how curiosity can be a personal driver for achievement.


OBIS: Emilie, we are delighted to have you here. Can you tell us more about your role in OBIS and eDNA Expeditions?

Emilie Boulanger: Great to be here! I work for the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), a programme component under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, as a scientific officer specialised in DNA-based methods for biodiversity monitoring. Within the OBIS team, I work on improving the way we openly share DNA-based biodiversity data. Within eDNA Expeditions, I’ll work directly with the participating sites to co-develop the sampling strategies to answer their monitoring questions, as well as analyse and interpret the resulting biodiversity data together.


How did your journey into marine science begin? Was it something that started in childhood, or a decision you made later during your studies?

I would say a bit of both. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the underwater world. I did not grow up by the sea, but during holidays, especially in the Mediterranean, I would spend hours snorkelling and exploring beneath the surface. I got hooked, and that curiosity never left me. Now that I live close to the sea, I dive and freedive regularly, and I still love observing what happens underwater. That childhood fascination eventually grew into an actual scientific career.


Did you have a defining moment when you realised this would become your professional path?

It was not really a single epiphany, but rather a gradual process. As a child, I was obsessed with dolphins and even dreamed of working with them. Later, as a teenager, I considered studying marine biology, although at the time it felt quite distant, because it meant learning all aspects of biology, and that felt slightly overwhelming. But when the time came to choose my study path, around 18 years old, I took a leap of faith and decided to follow my instinct: I enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in biology. Learning about plants and other organisms opened my eyes to how fascinating the natural world is, and fed my curiosity for the field. Then, when I was 21, a friend told me about a Master’s degree in marine biodiversity and conservation, and I decided to go for it. And I didn’t regret this choice! Little by little, through internships, field and work experiences, my curiosity about the ocean kept growing. I’m still learning every day!


Your current role combines cutting-edge science and community engagement through eDNA Expeditions. What attracts you most to this project?

eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028 is a very unique project: it combines strong scientific work and direct engagement with people, from site management teams to local communities. We will need to work closely with all the project’s participants, make sure everyone is engaged, and receive the support they need. This is an aspect of my work that I really enjoy. Research can sometimes be quite solitary, with long hours reading articles, analysing data, and designing experiments. I am a social person, so I really value projects where science connects directly with communities and people. I am excited to dive back into field protocols and data analysis through eDNA Expeditions, while continuing to exchange directly with people about science and biodiversity monitoring. I previously held a teaching position and really enjoyed it, so I feel that I can bring a lot of community-facing skills to the eDNA Expeditions project and share knowledge while learning from the participants’ enthusiasm. Besides that teaching experience, my scientific background on community ecology of macro-organisms, such as fish, is a great match for the project. It perfectly complements the scientific background of Saara Suominen, the eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028 operational officer, who is a specialist in microbiome ecology.


The call for sites to participate in eDNA Expeditions received a large number of applications from marine sites worldwide. Were you surprised?

The project is a fantastic opportunity for marine sites, so I am really happy it piqued this much interest. The number of applications is impressive, and it is very empowering that so many people want to engage their time in it. What we offer through eDNA Expeditions is a truly collaborative process: we will co-design the observation approaches with each site, with a strong focus on flowing back the sampled data and the generated insights directly to each site. The project team aims to support each site through coordination and scientific analysis and ensure maximum uptake and mobilization of the collected data. I feel very proud to be part of that process. Being able to empower others through collaboration and knowledge transfer completely matches my values as a scientist.


You worked directly with students and teachers during the launch of the eDNA Expeditions in Nice last June. What stayed with you from that experience?

What stayed with me most was the energy I felt at that launch! We had organized an official event that was part of the UNOC programme, which included a sampling activity conducted by schoolchildren from Nice and their teacher. The students were incredibly enthusiastic and curious. The sampling was a real scientific operation and not just a vague demonstration: All the collected samples were sent for sequencing at our technical partner’s high-end lab, and we received the results back soon after. The kids were well prepared by their teacher, who had already introduced them to biodiversity and genetics concepts. The operation felt meaningful because it connected classroom learning with real-world application of DNA-derived data. These students were part of a marine-oriented curriculum, so the sampling day complemented their existing activities. Sharing that enthusiasm was incredibly motivating and deeply fulfilling.

eDNA is a cutting-edge observation technology, but you can make it more accessible using analogies. I like comparing it to crime forensics: instead of searching for human DNA at a crime scene, we look for traces of animal DNA left behind in water. And just like a crime scene may look empty, advanced techniques allow us to detect traces that are invisible to the naked eye.


As an early-career female scientist, can directly engaging with young learners as you did in Nice inspire them?

I believe it does. Growing up, I saw many incredible women teaching and working in science. Throughout my scientific career, I never questioned my place. Showing more women in scientific roles helps normalise it. It should not feel exceptional; it should simply feel natural that everyone belongs in science. In Nice, I did see some students, especially girls, take their roles very seriously during sampling. They were focused, curious, and engaged. Hopefully, it sparked something and planted a seed for the future. The ocean inspired me as a child, and that inspiration shaped my path. Seeing young people participate in community science makes me hopeful that it will foster curiosity and appreciation for nature. It may even encourage some of them to pursue careers in marine conservation.


What message would you share with a girl who is curious about science but unsure if she belongs?

Be curious, always. Keep feeding your curiosity. You belong in science, and your passion and enthusiasm will help you find, and maintain, your own path.

You can access the OBIS Workplan for 2026-2027 here.

A substantive part of the workplan focuses on reinforcing OBIS’s technical foundation.

This includes refining the operating modes of the three Coordination Groups to improve efficiency and ensure that all voices across the OBIS Community have the opportunity to contribute equally (Deliverables 4.1 and 4.2). Dedicated collaborative activities, such as workshops and targeted discussions, will accelerate progress on identified critical technical priorities and needs, including the adoption of key data standards (Deliverable 5.1), advancing Darwin Core-Data Package practices jointly with GBIF (Deliverable 5.3), implementing eDNA guidelines with associated training plans (Deliverable 5.5), and enhancing WoRMS taxon annotation workflows (Deliverable 5.2). Additional actions focus on improving validation tools, vocabularies, and archiving practices (DCG task list under Outcome 4), and formalising collaboration with the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) on monitoring delivery of the biological and Ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables (Deliverable 5.4).

The workplan develops the infrastructure’s ability to deliver high-quality, actionable marine biodiversity information.

A key element is the operational deployment of the OBIS Product Catalogue, including new metadata fields that indicate the policy frameworks supported by each product (Deliverables 7.1–7.4). The workplan also introduces a national-level policy pilot to demonstrate how OBIS data products, such as species richness layers and species distribution models, can inform biodiversity strategies at multiple scales (Deliverable 8.1).

The rollout of the Product Catalogue, including the development of policy-relevant metadata extensions, will improve the OBIS Community’s ability to deliver structured, ready-to-use tools, indicators, maps, and dashboards answering marine conservation, monitoring, and management needs. The introduction of JupyterHub-supported workflows will further enable reproducible, community-generated products, enhancing OBIS’s capacity to provide operational biodiversity data services (PCG activities under Outcome 7).

Capacity development and community empowerment remain central pillars.

At the Node level, efforts will focus on facilitating Node-to-Node communication through an updated Coordination Group meeting structure designed to provide all Nodes with more space to present, discuss, and collaborate (Deliverable 1.2). A renewed OBIS Pulse Newsletter (Deliverable 1.3) will further support horizontal communication. The Secretariat will co-design a communication toolkit with the Nodes to help them engage funders and host institutions, as well as increase visibility of OBIS activities and impact (Deliverable 2.1). Additional actions include an onboarding roadmap for new Nodes (Deliverable 3.1), an operational peer-based support framework for all Nodes (Deliverable 3.2), and a mechanism to capture recurring capacity-related questions in an FAQ (Deliverable 3.3). To ensure greater visibility and accessibility of community expertise, the workplan also introduces the creation of a Node Knowledge Repository documenting skills, tools, and processes across the OBIS Community (Deliverable 3.4).

The OBIS workplan for 2026-2027 is ambitious. It consolidates OBIS’s position as the leading global marine biodiversity data infrastructure, while expanding the range and quality of services delivered to society. The workplan translates OBIS’s new strategic vision into a coherent and implementable set of actions that connects infrastructure development, decision support, policy alignment, operational services delivery, and community empowerment. Together, these components will strengthen OBIS’s readiness to meet the growing global demand for accessible, reliable, and policy-ready marine biodiversity information.

The full report of the 13th session of the OBIS Steering Group is accessible here.

Augmenting OBIS preparedness

At the SG-13 meeting, the OBIS Steering Group members collectively reaffirmed OBIS’s mission to support science and evidence-based policymaking. Available, accessible, and reliable marine life information is essential to improve our knowledge of the global ocean. It contributes to addressing efforts to address pressures from the ongoing triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

The OBIS Steering Group members proposed four new Strategic Objectives to reinforce OBIS position as the world’s leading marine biodiversity data infrastructure and as a global community of experts. These objectives highlight the characteristics that make OBIS a critical component of the global biodiversity data value chain, from data generation and interoperability to policy uptake and community empowerment.

→ Objective 1. Build a sustainable global marine biodiversity data infrastructure

• Establish a highly accessible, scientifically trusted, fully integrated, and interoperable global data infrastructure that aligns with the data architecture of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
• Ensure adherence to international data standards and frameworks, respecting FAIR and CARE principles.
• Support sustained data flows and delivery of the Biology and Ecosystems Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
• Secure long-term archiving of marine biodiversity data and information, enabling seamless worldwide exchange and accessibility.

Key takeaways for Objective 1:

• OBIS strengthens its alignment with the IOC value chain and its position within the IOC digital ecosystem. In particular, deeper collaboration with GOOS will support the operationalisation of biological Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs), ensuring that biodiversity observations are ready for use.
• The explicit inclusion of the FAIR and CARE principles reinforces responsible and equitable data governance. It enables stronger connections between marine biodiversity data and local and Indigenous knowledge and allows for more contextual interpretation of marine data. This directly enhances OBIS’s long-standing commitments to benefit-sharing, data ownership, and visibility for local contributors.
• Long-term sustainability and continuity of OBIS operations are highlighted as essential priorities, including alignment with the IOC data policy, strengthened global-scale archiving practices, and the sustained delivery of interoperable, high-quality biodiversity data.
  
  

  → Objective 2. Support evidence-based ocean biodiversity policy

  Supports commitments to international biodiversity agreements by co-designing and aligning data, information products, and services with major policy frameworks (e.g., the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the BBNJ Agreement) and national, regional, and global assessments (e.g., UN World Ocean Assessment, IPBES, IOC StOR).

Key takeaways for Objective 2:

• OBIS enhances its alignment with major biodiversity policy frameworks at global, regional, and national scales, ensuring that its data flows can effectively respond to evolving policy requirements.

• OBIS reaffirms its position as a science-based enabler for global ocean governance, supporting evidence-based policymaking, marine management, and the sustainable use of ocean resources through accessible, trusted biodiversity information.

• OBIS’s recognized role in the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is further consolidated, including its function as a global reference system for marine biodiversity data and its contribution as a complementary indicator for Targets 20 and 21.
  
  

  → Objective 3. Deliver operational biodiversity data services

  Deliver operational biodiversity data, information products and services, including decision support tools, for monitoring, managing, and protecting marine ecosystems, multi-hazard early warning and mitigation systems, and Sustainable Ocean Planning and Management (SOPM).

Key takeaways for Objective 3:

• OBIS consolidates its focus on providing fit-for-purpose, actionable marine biodiversity intelligence, delivering user-facing products, indicators, and tools that answer a broad range of needs in ocean monitoring and conservation, marine management, and the sustainable use of resources. OBIS builds on its experience in completed projects, including species distribution maps, eDNA-based observation dashboards, and early-warning tools to detect emerging biorisks.

• OBIS continues to prioritize enhancing existing data services and developing new operational tools, ensuring flexibility and readiness to respond to evolving end-user needs.
  
  

  → Objective 4. Empower communities through capacity development

  Ensure equitable capacity to collect, manage, publish, access, and use marine biodiversity data for all, through capacity development, innovation, targeted community initiatives, and strengthened collaboration.

Key takeaways for Objective 4:

• The new OBIS strategy places people and communities at the centre of its strategic priorities, recognizing that equitable capacity to contribute, access, and use marine biodiversity data is fundamental to meaningful participation in global biodiversity processes.

• OBIS, as a leading data infrastructure and community, reinforces its role in advancing skills development, collaboration, and community engagement, enabling partners and data holders to build the capacity needed to participate in the global marine biodiversity data system.

• OBIS increases its support to contributors in developing countries and SIDS, empowering them to publish and use marine biodiversity data, secure fair access, and benefit equitably from the global ocean knowledge system.
  
  To further highlight OBIS readiness and direction, members of the Steering Group also proposed an updated version of the infrastructure’s Vision—“A global data ecosystem for marine biodiversity that is comprehensive, integrated, inclusive and accessible, enabling sustained ecosystem services for a healthy ocean” and Mission —”Lead the coordination of effective marine biodiversity data mobilisation and deliver integrated, standardized high-quality data, information products and services to answer the needs of the global community”. The new Vision and Mission reaffirm OBIS’s position as a community-driven, leading global biodiversity data infrastructure with a strong focus on delivering meaningful, real-world impact that powers action for a healthy ocean.
  
  Through this strategic reorientation, the Steering Group members confirmed OBIS’s status as a trusted digital infrastructure and a community, with robust operationality, scientific credibility, and human capacity as its core components. These new strategic elements also underline OBIS’s preparedness to support emerging demand for high-quality marine biodiversity information.