The Ocean Census – the largest initiative ever created for ocean discovery – has the ambitious goal to discover 100,000 new marine species in the next 10 years.
This initiative is an open network of science, business, media and civil society organisations founded by the Nippon Foundation and Nekton.
Scientists estimate that nearly 2 million marine species are yet to be discovered – representing 90% of all marine life. As Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, says: “We can’t protect what we don’t know exists”.
The decisions we make in the next ten years in terms of policy, governance, and sustainability will impact the next thousand years, according to the Ocean Census Director Oliver Steeds.
Learn more about this initiative here.
Image credit: Beth Watson / Ocean Image Bank