Much remains to be discovered about life in the oceans. For example, ichthyologists have so far identified about 15,000 species of marine fishes. They also believe about 5,000 species of marine fishes remain to be discovered. The Age of Discovery in the oceans is not over. The second reason for a Census is improved management of marine resources.
Big opportunities exist to improve management of fisheries and other human uses of the oceans.
These are so well-known to you that I will not repeat them. The third compelling reason for the CoML is the International Convention on Biodiversity. For this Convention to become useful, good baseline information on ecology is required. The present baseline information on marine ecosystems for most of the world's oceans is weak. The CoML can help greatly to create the needed baseline information.