To promote intelligent and sustainable use and management of the oceans through
(i) Promotion of collaboration and co-ordination among major oceanographic institutions committed to ocean science;
(ii) Development of capacity in the weaker countries for using and managing their ocean space under UNCLOS intelligently;
(iii) Advocacy for sound use and management of the oceans

Governments:
Government of United States of America - Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Lab. -AOML
Government of United States of America - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Major Groups:
Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) (Canada)
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization -CSIRO (Australia)
Bedford Institute of Oceanography (Canada)
Dalhousie University (Canada)
Chilean Consortium - Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (SHOA) (Chile)
Chilean Consortium - Universidad de Concepción (Chile)
Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)
French Consortium - Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Expolration de la MER (IFREMER) (France)
French Consortium - L'institut National des Sciences de l'Univers du CNRS (INSU) (France)
German Consortium - Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) (Germany)
German Consortium - Institut of Marine Research (IfM) (Germany)
German Consortium - Research Center for Marine Geosciences (GEOMAR) (Germany)
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) (India)
National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology (JAMSTEC) (Japan)
Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (Netherlands)
Institute for Marine Research (Norway)
Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) (Republic of Korea)
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (Russian Federation)
Bermuda Biological Research Station (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
UK Consortium - Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
UK Consortium - Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
UK Consortium - Scottish Association of Marine Sciences (SAMS) (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
UK Consortium - Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC) (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives (IBEA) (United States of America)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) (United States of America)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Office of the Chief Scientist (NOAA HQ) (United States of America)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) (United States of America)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (United States of America)
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (United States of America)

UN System:
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) , United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (France)