The Ocean Health Index is a valuable tool for the ongoing assessment of ocean health. By providing a means to advance comprehensive ocean policy and compare future progress, the Index can inform decisions about how to use or protect marine ecosystems.
The Index is a collaborative effort, made possible through contributions from more than 65 scientists/ocean experts and partnerships between organizations including the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Sea Around Us, Conservation International, National Geographic, and the New England Aquarium.
The Index assesses the ocean based on 10 widely-held public goals for a healthy ocean. They are: Food Provision, Artisanal Fishing Opportunities, Natural Products, Carbon Storage, Coastal Protection, Sense of Place, Coastal Livelihoods & Economies, Tourism & Recreation, Clean Waters, Biodiversity.
Please note that every year the OHI team improve the Ocean Health Index by incorporating new data, knowledge, and feedback. In order to make scores comparable among years, they recalculate previous year’s results using the most recent methods and data.