BACKGROUND

Access to operational and historical ocean data is essential to provide situational awareness, inform policy and support long-term planning and management. The Marine Information Management System (MIMS) is an ocean data management component of the national Oceans Information Management System (OCIMS), developed through a collaborative partnership between the Oceans and Coasts branch of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment (DFFE) and the South African Environmental Observations Network (SAEON). MIMS is an accredited International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Associate Data Unit for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and is responsible for archiving and publishing high-quality marine and coastal datasets (and related metadata) collected by the department and its regional partners.

MIMS hosts the historical Southern African Data Centre for Oceanography (SADCO) – maintaining a critical archive of oceanographic data. MIMS also hosts the AfrOBIS – the sub-Saharan African node of IODE Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) – a global open-access data and information system for marine biodiversity. Through AfrOBIS, MIMS coordinates and facilitates the exchange of marine data and metadata across the sub-Saharan region. Over the years, MIMS has grown from a national to a more robust and trustworthy international marine data and information system. MIMS is fully interoperable with the IODE Ocean InfoHub (OIH) – thereby expanding MIMS’ global reaching and positioning it as a trusted data repository.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the MIMS Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is to facilitate dialogue between major ocean and coastal data custodians and managers to promote the discovery and preservation of South Africa’s ocean and coastal data. The MIMS TAG provides a forum where technical information, advice and recommendations may be shared with developers of the MIMS to guide the development of the MIMS for the benefit of all ocean and data users in South Africa.

More information about the MIMS TAG can be accessed from the Terms of Reference document.