This important site provides up to date information on the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It is the third in a series of United Nations efforts to codify the rules by which nations utilize over 70% of the earth's surface. All aspects of the use of the oceans, from the edge of the coast to the bottom of the deepest sea are addressed in this convention. Over three hundred articles in length, this is perhaps the most complex legal agreement ever achieved. Having received its 60th ratification on November 16, 1993, the Law of the Sea Convention came into force one year later - November 16th, 1994.

Australia's Ocean Policy, see below, which was developed in light of the Convention will have an important and direct bearing on the future conservation and protection of Cetacea.

This excellent WebSite provides information about the role and activities of the Australian Antarctic Division.

The Australian Centre for Applied Marine Mammal Science (ACAMMS) was established in 2006 and is the first major national research centre focused on understanding, protecting and conserving the whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs in our region.

Of special interest are the scientific voyages undertaken by the Division each year. A regular member of the Cetacean Research Team aboard the Aurora Australis is our colleage and friend Paul Hodda, Chairman of the Australian Whale Conservation Society.

Paul joins The Oceania Project's Whale Research Expedition
in Hervey Bay each year to participate in the on-board research and education program.

was founded in 1960 on basis of the recognition that "the oceans, covering some seventy percent of the earth's surface, exert a profound influence on mankind and even on all forms of life on Earth... In order to properly interpret the full value of the oceans to mankind, they must be studied from many points of view. While pioneering research and new ideas usually come from individuals and small groups, many aspects of oceanic investigations present far too formidable a task to be undertaken by any one nation or even a few nations."

Since the oceans are influencing in a very significant way both global environmental changes and sustainable development, it is essential that we understand and are able to predict global and regional ocean conditions and the interaction with the atmosphere, biosphere and land. Our knowledge of the decisive processes is still too limited for us to be able to predict with useful accuracy, the behaviour of a most important part of the global system - the ocean and the related impact on the environment.

It is therefore necessary that we expand our knowledge and improve our capabilities through a renewed commitment to oceanographic research, systematic ocean observations, technology development and transfer, and related education and training. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission will have to play a pivotal role in meeting these needs.

is a project of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange Programme(IODE) of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC)

Check out Ocean Teacher a repository for knowledge and training materials related to oceanography

site is offered as a free service to the marine scientific community, to managers and decision makers, and in general, to anyone interested in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

The eSeFDee Marine Sciences Portal has links to:

* The websites of approx. 600 international organisations, management bodies, research institutes, information and data centres, etc., whose field of operation includes the North Atlantic and/or the Mediterranean, or parts thereof.
* Major oceanography and marine science portals.
* Taxonomical websites and databases of particular relevance to the North Atlantic and/or the Mediterranean.
* Key documents on (marine) biota, the (marine) environment, living marine resources and related issues.

UNEP, in cooperation with the International Ocean Institute (IOI), is developing the GPA News Forum, an Internet-based information source which includes news related to the implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.

Through the GPA News Forum, decision-makers and practitioners in governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the private sector will be able to share information on their experiences, successful and unsuccessful, in preventing, mitigating, controlling, or eliminating the adverse impacts of land-based activities on the marine environment.

is a communications-based nonprofit organization that uses social marketing techniques to advance ocean conservation. By raising public awareness, advancing science-based solutions and mobilizing decision-makers around ocean conservation, we are leading voices for a healthy ocean..

Oceana is a new non-profit, international advocacy organization created with the sole purpose of protecting the world's oceans to sustain the circle of life. We bring together dedicated people from around the world, building an international movement to save the oceans through public policy advocacy, science and economics, legal action, grassroots mobilization, and public education.

The Oceanography Society was founded in 1988 to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and its application through research and education, to promote communication among oceanographers, and to provide a constituency for consensus-building across all the disciplines of the field.

Oceans Alive is an educational project undertaken by ABC Online in conjunction with the Community Biodiversity Network, The British Council Australia and oz-TeacherNet.