Technical Consultant for the Ocean Census Biodiversity Data Platform

Fenris partnered with the Intertidal Agency to provide technical consulting support for the Ocean Census Biodiversity Data Platform, a critical component of the world’s largest collaborative effort to accelerate the discovery of marine life. We provided strategic guidance during a pivotal phase of this multi-year initiative.

The Ocean Census, launched by The Nippon Foundation and Nekton, is the world’s largest collaborative effort to accelerate the discovery of marine life, endorsed under the United Nations Ocean Decade. The initiative brings together governments, philanthropic supporters, and leading marine research organizations to discover and document an estimated 1-2 million undiscovered marine species before they potentially go extinct.

The Ocean Census Biodiversity Data Platform, developed in partnership with UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, launched its beta version in March 2025.

Key Contributions:

• Technical Evaluation: Assessed progress against planned milestones in Year 2 of the program, identifying areas where technical work needed realignment
• Vendor Management: Provided guidance on navigating complex vendor relationships and technical challenges
• Strategic Planning: Helped the team develop long-term vision for the platform’s impact and scope beyond the current project timeline
• Data Platform Architecture: Advised on optimization of data pathways and processes connecting new species data to global repositories like WoRMS

Our engagement focused on ensuring the Biodiversity Data Platform would effectively serve the global network of 800+ scientists from 400+ institutions collaborating on species discovery.

Contributions:

• Technical platform evaluation and strategic assessment
• Long-term impact planning and platform scope development
• Data stewardship and architecture optimization advice

Impact

Our work enabled leaders to keep the Ocean Census Biodiversity Data Platform on track to support the discovery and documentation of marine species at unprecedented scale. The guidance provided during this critical phase positioned the platform to better serve the global scientific community and advance marine conservation goals.

About Intertidal Agency

Intertidal Agency is a nonprofit that “works with governments, tribes, scientists, nonprofits, and industry to unlock data for ocean sustainability.” Aman had the pleasure of working closely with Kate Wing and Rachael Blake on this project.