News
The new OBIS website is live! Please be our cleaner shrimp.
2 April 2026
Ambon Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) Umkhanyakude, ZA-NL, ZA. by aspearton via inaturalist.org, licensed under CC-BY-NC
A Pacific cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) cleans the mouth of a fish on the coast of Umkhanyakude, South Africa
In October 2025, OBIS quietly launched a redesigned website and now we want to make sure the community knows about it.
The new site was built with a broader range of users in mind. Whether you’re a researcher accessing data, an educator looking for resources, a journalist covering ocean biodiversity, or a citizen scientist curious about marine life, the site aims to make it easier to find what you need. The navigation has been reorganized around what users actually come to OBIS for: exploring data, understanding what OBIS does, and getting involved. The redesign also reflects a commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, as we work toward improvements to support multilingual users and visitors with visual impairments.
We recognize that not every user will love every detail, so we’re asking you to be our cleaner shrimp. Help us clean up our act by removing the debris, polishing the functions, and working toward the best service possible for our global ocean community.
How to Give Feedback
The source code for the site is now publicly available on GitHub at github.com/iobis/obis-website. If you spot something that could be better: a broken link, unclear content, or a suggestion for improvement, we’d love to hear from you.
You can open an issue directly in the repository with a free GitHub account. The site will continue to evolve, and community feedback is a key part of that process.
