The largest global mission to discover ocean life
Discover Life
The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census mission is to accelerate
the discovery of ocean life to sustain and advance life on Earth.
Why
it
matters
Earth is the only known place in the Universe where there is complex biology. Ocean life has evolved over four billion years and is our planet’s superpower making all life on Earth possible – giving us our atmosphere, regulating our climate, feeding us and providing cures for our diseases.
Currently no more than 10% of ocean life is known, far less is protected and much is under threat.
Accelerating the discovery of ocean life advances fundamental ocean science, empowers marine conservation and fuels innovation.
To understand life, and sustain it, we must first discover it.
#everydiscoverycounts
Join the census
The Ocean Census is reimagining discovery – fast, open, collaborative, equitable and at scale – and is being undertaken by the Ocean Census Alliance, uniting national and philanthropic marine institutes, museums, universities and scientists, and backed by governments, philanthropy, business and civil society partners.
Join science network
Participate in expeditions, attend discovery workshops, and apply for funding through our awards.
Join the Alliance
Help scale species discovery through participating in the Census or providing funding, resources or in-kind support.
Register your species
Contribute to the global record by registering newly discovered marine species through the Ocean Census.
THE CENSUS IN ACTION
Expeditions
Our expeditions explore some of the ocean’s most under-surveyed, biodiverse and ecological regions. They focus on collecting specimens for scientific analysis and contribute vital data to the global marine species record. Click a location to learn more about each mission.
Species Discovery Workshops
These workshops unite taxonomists around the world to identify and catalogue marine species, using specimens collected from expeditions and museum collections. Select a workshop location to explore its outcomes.
Limpet
Found
Up to 50m
South Africa’s Indian Ocean Coast
Interesting fact
Discovered at a depth of 3,053m in the Jøtul Vent Field of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, this deep-sea limpet (Cocculina sp.) is expanding scientific knowledge of the Arctic Ocean—Earth’s least documented and least biodiverse ocean.
Expedition
Spotlight
JAMSTEC Shinkai
4 June – 23 June 2025
The JAMSTEC Shinkai Expedition is a 20-day research mission that brings together Japanese Agency of Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census.
Join the census
An Alliance of scientists, governments, marine research institutes, museums, philanthropy, technology, media and civil society partners.
