In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
Reefbase: Global Information System for Coral Reefs
[Image: www.reefbase.org]
ReefBase gathers available knowledge about coral reefs into one information repository. It is intended to facilitate analyses and monitoring of coral reef health and the quality of life of reef-dependent people, and to support informed decisions about coral reef use and management.
ReefBase is the official database of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), as well as the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). The ReefBase Project is housed at the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia, with funding through ICRAN from the United Nations Foundation (UNF).
Global Databases and Mapping Resources
The resources highlighted on this page provide access to valuable information on aquatic organisms across the globe. More specialized maps and data focused on the United States or at regional U.S. scales are available elsewhere on this site.
Learn About Fish
Fishbase is a searchable global database of fish species information.
FishBase on the web contains practically all fish species known to science. Search over 28,000 fish species by common name, scientific name, ecosystem, or country. Or, use the search feature to find tools, maps, or references.
About FishBase
FishBase was developed at the WorldFish Center in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and many other partners, and with support from the European Commission (EC). Since 2001, FishBase has been supported by a consortium of seven research institutions.
United Nations Fisheries & Aquaculture Department
The Fisheries & Aquaculture Department of the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), is an excellent source for a wide array of geographic data related to fisheries and other aquatic resources. Information can be found on a number of topics including trade statistics, bycatch counts, technology, and the socio-economic status of fisheries around the world. Data can be accessed in two formats: geographic profiles and mapping applications.
Geographic Profiles. Search a database of over 300 country profiles prepared by FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Each profile summarizes the Department's assessment of activities and trends in fisheries and aquaculture for the country concerned. Economic and demographic data used in the profiles are based on UN or World Bank sources. Data on fisheries are generally those published by the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
GBIF collects: 1) specimen data from botanical, paleontological, and zoological collections around the world, and 2) documented observations of plants and animals. Then, through a distributed network of databases, GBIF makes this information freely available on the Internet.
If you wish to provide data to the GBIF Network and to make your data globally accessible, learn how.
World Resources Institute
[Image: World Resources Institute]
The World Resources Institute(WRI), a non-profit organization whose mission is "to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations." EarthTrends, a major initiative of the WRI, is an online collection of information regarding the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape the world. The site includes a variety of information, including downloadable data, maps, and country profiles. The following are topics that focus on aquatic resources:
The 
