Latest News & Updates

Learn what we and our partners are doing around the globe.

Tracking Ocean Sunfish to Map Marine Biodiversity Hotspots

By Emily Davenport on January 15, 2026

By tracking marine species like the ocean sunfish (Mola mola), BioTrack -- a project of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) -- is uncovering key patterns in biodiversity and making marine animal movement data accessible to stakeholders. Photo Credit: Dr. Austin Gallagher – Beneath The Waves – Background The Atlantic is home to a wide diversity of marine species, many of which share habitats impacted by human activities. Identifying areas of the ocean that are important to many different species, and how these hotspots intersect with human activities, is crucial for effective conservation, sustainable management, and overall ocean planning.

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Plankton Perfect: Using Imagery to Document Microscopic Marine Life

on December 10, 2025

Pictured: Students operate a Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) Rosette with an underwater microscope attached to capture photos of plankton. Far left top: starfish larva, left top: jellyfish larva, bottom left: crab, shrimp, or lobster larva. Dr. Enrique Montes is working to understand how plankton respond to changes in the ocean by capturing high resolution imagery with advanced technology. This work is funded by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) to use novel techniques like the Continuous Particle Imaging and Classification System (CPICS).

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Letters to the Sea

on August 1, 2024

Over 2.15 billion people live close to the coast, with 898 million in low-lying areas. For these communities, the sea is central to their lives, work, culture, emotions and spirituality. Children and youth are the demographic group that will be the most affected by climate change. Yet, they are often left out of environmental discussions at the international level. Somos OceanoS, a Marine Life 2030-affiliated project, wants to change this. They are excited to invite you to be a part of a global dialogue between youth and decision-makers in marine conservation through their Letters to the Sea initiative providing a unique glimpse into the youth´s perspective, voicing their challenges, ambitions and needs.

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Publication of Ocean Decade Vision 2030 White Papers

on June 14, 2024

We are excited to share that the United Nations Ocean Decade Vision 2030 White Papers have been officially published. Structured around the 10 Ocean Decade Challenges, the Vision 2030 process aimed to set a tailored and specific strategic ambition, and associated milestones, for each of the Challenges, ensuring their road to success by 2030. A key outcome of the Vision 2030 process, the 10 White papers represent a collaborative effort to develop the science we need for the ocean we want.

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Supporting Organizations

MBON ECOSYSTEM

MBON is a growing global initiative composed of regional networks of scientists, resource managers, and end-users working to integrate data from existing long-term programs to improve our understanding of changes and connections between marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

Global Community

Building a global community of practice

Observations

Contributing to the collection and analysis of harmonized biodiversity observations.

Data Protocols

Developing protocols and practices for data and products.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Disseminate knowledge for biodiversity assessment relative to society.

MBON Strategic Collaborators

We work with different organizations that support our network around the world.

Strategy and Implementation

The MBON Strategic and Implementation Plan reflects the ocean observing community engagement to deliver a common vision, stronger statement, and steady partnership to achieve a sustained system of global ocean observations and data management.

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