Ocean Best Practices

The Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) is an initiative focused on advancing the methods and technologies used to understand and sustain the oceans. Its vision is for agreed-upon practices to be widely adopted across ocean research, operations, and applications. OBPS defines a best practice as a methodology that repeatedly delivers better results than alternatives with the same objective and has been adopted by multiple organizations.

The system supports ocean professionals through a repository where users can search for or submit ocean practices, and a peer-reviewed research topic hosted by Frontiers in Marine Science. It also offers capacity development through the OceanTeacher Global Academy and supports the OceanPractices programme as part of the UN Ocean Decade. Workshops and community activities help promote the use of best practices, while a newsletter connects participants through the OceanPractices Community of Practice. By bringing together research, operational knowledge, training, and collaboration, OBPS works to make effective ocean methods more accessible and broadly applied.