Oceanography Virtual Library
One of a number of “Virtual Library” pages found throughout the Web, this is a good beginning point for identifying Internet resources in broad subject areas within the ocean sciences. Includes links to newsgroups and bulletin boards, electronic publications, societies and conferences, as well as a geographic listing of resources, by continent. Includes a “What's New” section and a search engine.

AquaNIC: Aquaculture Network Infromation Center
Coordinated by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, it is a gateway to worldwide electronic aquaculture resources. Resources are divided into the categories: Discussion Groups, Species, Systems, Job Services, Contacts, Publications, Newsletters, Educators Calendars, and others. Provides the aquaculture subject area for AgNIC, the Agriculture Network Information Center.

NOAA Ocean: Oceanography Resources on the Internet
A three page list of pointers drawn up by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the major federal agency. In addition to listing their own Internet resources, NOAA also provides resources from a variety of outside research institutes, universities, and special projects. These are arranged by the following headers: News, Hot Topics, Products, and Organizations.

Ocean Portal
“Ocean Portal is a high-level directory of Ocean Data and Information related web sites. Its objective is to help scientists and other ocean experts in locating such data and information.” Sposored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Categorizes links into information resources; data resources; scientific topics; agencies and institutions; societies and associations; administration, conservation and policy; and commerce and trade. Also includes a “top ten” list of links and a section of latest additions to the Portal.

Yahoo Marine Biology Guide
One of many subject subdivision pages from this very large classifier of Web resources. Yahoo does an excellent job of pulling together the large, the small, the major, and the obscure Internet providers in this multi-disciplinary subject. Marine biology is not easily defined as a subject and relies on information from many traditional scientific disciplines. Included here are pointers to aquaculture, coral reefs, ichthyology, marine animals, oceanography, and phycology.

Marine Biology Web
“An educational resource for marine biology students with reference lists organized by subject.” Produced by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, this site presents both bibliographies of traditional printed works and links to Web resources. Arrangement is in a user-friendly frames layout which includes a section on careers, a glossary, and directories of marine laboratories and organizations.

MarineBio.com
Non-profit site which is “an evolving online tribute to all Ocean life.” Species lists allow you to search or browse by organism, and there are links to schools, research institutions, marine life resources and news and major research efforts sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund Endangered Seas Program, Friends of the Sea, the Cousteau Society, and NOAA, etc. Though primarily aimed at a general audience, the structure, indexing and links make it an interesting site for educators and researchers alike.

Earth Trends Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Searchable Database
Part of the World Resources Institute's Earth Trends Environmental Information series, this is a searchable and browseable collection of statistical charts, which allows the user to specify variables such as geographic regions. Also available are maps and country profiles from the main Earth Trends page.

Oceans & Coastal Resources: a Briefing Book
A reprint of the Congressional Research Service's Report 97-588ENR, through the National Library for the Environment, a service of the National Council for Science and the Environment. Although dated, at publication date of 1997 and latest update in 1998, it provides a nice overview of marine resources and policy challenges.

OceanLaw and Internet Guide to International Fisheries Law
OceanLaw is “an independent initiative focusing on international law of the sea and international fisheries law research.” The Fisheries Law section includes compendia of legal texts and fisheries cases, as well as directories and annotated listings of organizations, a research Web pathfinder and a glossary. Also has links to a “Webzine” and a discussion list. Prepared by a PhD candidate at Cardiff Law School, U.K.

Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide
Part of the WWW Virtual Library, “the Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide includes over 1,500 annotated links to admiralty law resources on the Internet and a growing database of admiralty case digests, opinions and international maritime conventions. The emphasis is on the law of the United States and the focus is on Internet resources.” It is written and published by Todd Kenyon, an admiralty attorney and partner in the law firm Betancourt, Van Hemmen, Greco & Kenyon.

National Sea Grant Library Database
A searchable index of Sea Grant publications, searchable by author, title, or subject, with the ability to limit to date, region, or specific state. “The National Sea Grant Library, NSGL, (formerly known as the National Sea Grant Depository) was established in 1970 as an archive and lending library for Sea Grant funded documents. These documents cover a wide variety of subjects, including oceanography, marine education, aquaculture, fisheries, limnology, coastal zone management, marine recreation and law.”

National Oceanographic Data Center
A page of information describing the Center, including a general overview, directories of offices, a listing of products and services, instructions for submitting data, and a “what's new” section. “The NODC provides ocean data management and ocean data services to researchers and other users in the US and around the world.”

National Geophysical Data Center
A companion page to the above, with similar structure. The agency responsible, NGDC, “manages environmental data in the fields of marine geology and geophysics, paleoclimatology, solar-terrestrial physics, solid earth geophysics, and glaciology (snow and ice). In each of these fields NGDC also operates a World Data Center (WDC A) discipline center.”

United Nations Atlas of the Oceans
Produced by the UN interagency coordination group UN-Oceans, “an information system designed for use by policy makers who need to become familiar with ocean issues and by scientists, students and resource managers who need access to underlying data bases and approaches to sustainability.”

Coastal and Marine Geology Program, U.S. Geological Survey
The program is responsible for “investigating geologic issues of marine and coastal areas under the themes of Environmental Quality and Preservation, Natural Hazards and Public Safety, Natural Resources, and Earth-Sciences Information and Technology.” This page contains a large variety of visual images of geologic features and phenomena, some in 3-D (3-D movie glasses required!). Also provides a vast number of links to other informational pages about coastal areas and sea floors, as well as fish and wildlife resources. There is a separate listing of briefings on research within the USGS on coastal and marine geology.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service
A general introduction, guide, and directory to this important bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior. It includes an overview of the service, a list of activities, offices and people, and news, including an electronic journal, Fish and Wildlife News, which is viewed as downloadable PDF files. Among their primary interests are marine mammals, anadromous (migrating) fish, and wetlands.

U.S. E.P.A. Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
Consolidated page of information and links from the Environmental Protection Agency intended for the general public, but including access to documents of interest to the scientific community, such as Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters, and Implementing a Community-Based Watershed Approach.

National Ocean Service Special Projects Office
Replaces the former ORCA, Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment. It “provides expertise, products and services that help the National Ocean Service to design and implement an effective program of coastal stewardship throughout the agency.” Includes lengthy descriptions of the office's branches and divisions, as well as a listing of products and services, which include datasets, GIS files, CD-ROMs and videos.

National Ocean Economics Program
Funded by federal, state, university, and private grants and contracts, this program provides current economic and socio-economic information available on changes and trends along the U.S. coast and in coastal waters. Includes data on ocean and coastal economies and markets, as well as natural resources data, covering commercial fisheries and aquaculture.

Seafood Information and Resources
From the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it includes information about foodborne pathogens and contaminants, inspection and HACCP, specific state and federal food safety programs, and “other sources of seafood information.”

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
The Commission encourages and facilitates cooperation among member states of the United Nations in the study of the ocean. It “assists governments to address their individual and collective ocean and coastal problems through the sharing of knowledge, information and technology and through the coordination of national programs.” Included are links to featured web sites, a calendar of events, news, and basic information pages on issues affecting oceans and coasts.

Aqua KE Government Documents
“The Aquaculture Knowledge Environment, or Aqua KE, is an information and communication resource designed to help advance knowledge and information sharing surrounding the science, policy, and practice of aquaculture. This site, the aquaculture documents library, is the first phase of the Aqua KE program. The site is owned and administered by Island Press, a non-profit environmental publisher, and it is designed to help inform environmentally sustainable aquaculture practices and policies.”

National Association of Marine Laboratories
“... A nonprofit organization of over 90 members employing more than 10,000 scientists, engineers, and professionals and representing marine and Great Lakes laboratories stretching from Guam to Bermuda and Alaska to Puerto Rico, ... NAML is composed of three regional associations: Southern Association of Marine Laboratories, Northeastern Association of Marine & Great Lakes Laboratories [which includes Univ. of Delaware], and Western Association of Marine Laboratories.” This is essentially a consortium to “promote networking of facilities, resources, and information among member institutions [and] provide a contact and forum for efficient partnerships among member institutions, government agencies and educational outreach organizations,” among other goals. This site includes links to each institution and a joint list of job postings.

MareNet: the Network of Marine Research Institutions and Documents
A distributed information service, it links to information on the web-servers of professional research institutions and university departments. “The aim of MareNet is to provide a longtime stable and distributed information service for marine science with the collaboration of many national and international societies and marine research organisations.” It uses a HARVEST-based search engine to search the sites of 400 institutions for documents, journals, data, jobs, and conference announcements. Resources are listed by geopolitical division, but can be searched by subject.

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System
Look under “Specialized Research Bibliographies” for a large group of citations on research specializing in Cephalopod, Marine Mammals, as well as Museum Studies. Access is by keyword searching of title, author, subject, or general text. Browse searching is also available. Note that, though the cephalopod bibliography is for recent material, the marine mammal section is historic only, listing works only up to the mid 1800’s.

Ocean Information Center (OCEANIC), University of Delaware
The Ocean Information Center (OCEANIC) maintains information on: WOCE-World Ocean Circulation Experiment, TOGA - Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment, and TOGA - Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment. Also includes a broad guide to Internet resources with pointers to many of the resources mentioned elsewhere in this guide.

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc.
“The mission of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, one of 28 National Estuary Programs, is to lead collaborative and creative efforts to protect and enhance the Delaware Estuary and its tributaries for current and future generations.” Includes news, publications, education programs, and links to other informative sites.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Home page for this important division of the Univ of California system. “Scripps Institution was founded in 1903 as an independent biological research laboratory, which became part of the University of California in 1912. Research at Scripps encompasses physical, chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical studies of the oceans. Ongoing investigations include the topography and composition of the ocean bottom, waves and currents, and the flow and interchange of matter between seawater and the ocean bottom or the atmosphere.” Includes links to research, education and resources, the latter including the library.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
General page on the institution as an organization, including news, publications, calendar, overview of research programs and education programs, and links to specific departments, including the library. The library section includes a link to the online catalog and information for outside library users not associated with Woods Hole local research institutions.

Ocean Link: Marine Science Information and Interaction (British Columbia)
Sponsored by a number of academic, research, and government institutions in British Columbia, Canada, “Ocean Link is a marine science information and interaction web site. It is also a partnership between several marine organizations, all committed to marine education. On these pages, you will find information about many marine science topics, including Marine Biology, Oceanography, Marine Mammals, Seabirds, Marine Pollution, Marine Invertebrates, Marine fish and much more!” The focus seems to be specifically on teaching at the high school and undergraduate college levels, but many links to Internet resources are included.

Mote Marine Laboratory
Another resource for educators, this page from a Sarasota, Florida aquarium and the associated Pigeon Key Marine Research Center includes information on research and education programs, aquaculture, careers and internships, marine mammal and sea turtle research, and several sections about particular marine organisms. Includes links to other Web resources and a special section on red tides.

Marine Laboratory, Duke University School of the Environment
The focus of this laboratory is on the marine sciences, coastal environmental management, and marine biomedicine. This page includes information on teaching and research facilities, research vessels, the academic programs and faculty, the seminar speaker series, and a link to the library (Pearse Memorial Library), including Web sites of interest.

Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
Another marine laboratory page, this one is notable for the section provided by the library (Harold A. Miller Library), which provides good indexes and links to marine biology literature, online catalogs, online journals, and other online reference resources such as databanks, dictionaries and maps. Also includes an extensive list of sites providing information on careers in marine biology and oceanography. “Founded in 1892, Hopkins was the first marine laboratory to be established on the American Pacific coast.”

Marine Law Institute, University of Maine
A Web page of general information about this specialty law program, described as follows: “MLI is the research and public service component of the Ocean and Coastal Law Program and is the only law school-affiliated marine policy research program in the Northeast. MLI has dedicated its program of legal and policy research to the analysis of ocean and coastal resource issues for the express purpose of improving management practices and public understanding.” Includes sections on research and publications, as well as information about the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.

Council of Science Editors (CSE)
Formerly the Council of Biology Editors, its mission is “to improve communication in the life sciences by educating authors, editors, and publishers; by providing means of cooperation among persons interested in publishing in the life sciences; and by promoting effective communication practices in primary and secondary publishing in any form.” The Council produces a style manual commonly used as the standard for publishing in the life sciences.

FishBase: a Global Information System on Fishes
“FishBase is a relational database” with information on 25,000 species of fish, developed at the World Fish Center in collaberation with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. The full database is available only on a CD-ROM product, but this page provides a search engine for fish information, photos, and links to other sites. Also includes a “Fish Forum,” providing an e-mail reference service for questions to experts in the field.

LarvalBase: Global Information System about Fish Larvae
From the same source and similar to FishBase, above. Includes 1430 species and 1870 pictures online. Covers “fish larvae that are relevant in the fields of fisheries research and finfish aquaculture.”

ReefBase: a Global Information System on Coral Reefs
Provides information on the “location, status, threats, monitoring, legislation, and management of coral reefs in 131 countries.” Also includes data on coral bleaching and customizable maps of reefs, as well as a bibliography of over twenty thousand reef-related references. You can search by country, by type of resource, by reef status and threats, or by management project.

Horseshoe Crab
From the University of Delaware Sea Grant Program, the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Programs and NOAA. Covers history and biology, shorebird connection, human use, and research, as well as information on beaches where these organisms can be observed.

Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake
From Maryland Sea Grant, includes information on management, stock enhancement, and research needs for sustainable blue crab produuction. Updated regularly.

National Marine Mammal Laboratory
Covers research on mainly Pacific coast species, including Steller sea lions, killer whales, harbor porpoise and northern fur seals.

White Paper on the Status and Needs of Science in the Delaware Estuary
Assesses the state of the science in the Delaware Estuary, examining its current environmental management. 72 page pdf document, produced by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
News, local regulations, species information, permits office information, and legal document excerpts are included in this trade-industry page.

Freshwater and Marine Image Bank
From the University of Washington, “the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank is an ongoing digital collection of images related to freshwater and marine topics, in all their diversity. It includes images of fish, shellfish, and marine mammals, pictures of fish hatcheries and dams and vessels, materials related to polar exploration, regional and traditional fisheries, and limnological (freshwater) subjects. Its scope is global.”

UTEX: The Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas
Includes over 2,300 different strains of living algae, representing most major algal taxa. This site is a catalog of strains available for sale from the University of Texas at Austin. Links to other algal collections are included.

Species 2000
“Catalog of Life Programme, indexing the world's known species.” A site designed for research in biodiversity, it will attempt to cover the names of the known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microbes. It represents the intended consolidation of the information from 18 independent taxonomic databases.

Fisheries and Wildlife (Oregon State University, Guin Library)
This site is a general guide to this subject field, with references to subject headings, local CD-ROM indexes, and journals.

Subject Resources for Oceanography (University of British Columbia Library)
Subject Resources for Oceanography combines print and Internet resources in a logical outline format, which includes journal indexes, reference tools, electronic journals, societies, and newsgroups, and seven subject Web sites.

Information Resources in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Part of the UCSB Library's “Info Surf” subject pages, extensively covers these fields of biology, with substantial content on aquatic botany, oceanography, and other aquatic sciences.

Resources for Marine Science and Coastal Studies (University of Connecticut Libraries)
Resources for Marine Sciences and Coastal Studies lists over 50 sites under the categories: Meta sites (large directories), Algae - Phycology, Aquaculture, Biological, Coastal Studies, Data Sources, and Fisheries & Ichthyology. Includes local and New England sites.

Oceanography Resources (University of Washington Libraries)
Oceanography Resources is another well-organized directory of resources, both print and electronic. Includes guides to finding books, finding articles, datasets, electronic journals, and instructional guides. Under a separate heading for Web sites are links to 15 sites, many of them related to Washington state. More are expected, as the site is under construction.