The FishBase Information and Research Group, Inc. (FIN) is a non-stock, non-profit, non-governmental organization established in the Philippines in September 2003 to support comprehensive information systems with key data on all aquatic organisms of the world (www.fishbase.org, www.sealifebase.org), easily accessible and free-of-charge to the public. FIN was created and is scientifically guided by the FishBase Consortium, a group of 10 international Institutes and Organizations: Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Kiel, Germany); University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome, Italy); Muséum National d’HistoireNaturelle (Paris, France); Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium); Swedish Museum of Natural History (Stockholm, Sweden); Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki, Greece); Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (Beijing, China); Universidade Federal De Sergipe (Sergipe, Brazil) and WorldFish (Penang, Malaysia). The Coordinator of the FishBase Consortium is the Chair of FIN’s Board of Trustees.

 

Vision

A comprehensive information system with key data on all aquatic organisms of the world, easily accessible and free-of-charge to the public.

Mission

To support the growth of FishBase and SeaLifeBase, both public domain information systems dedicated to enhance understanding, conservation and management of fishes and aquatic organisms worldwide.

To operationalize its mission, FIN:

• Supports entry of key data on fish and fisheries into FishBase and SeaLifeBase to make the data available worldwide as a public good.
• Supports the creation and maintenance of a user-friendly interface and state-of-the-art tools in the worldwide web to give users easy and powerful access to the information available through FishBase and SeaLifeBase.
• Supports interactions of the FishBase and SeaLife Base team with international experts on taxonomy, ichthyology, biodiversity, fisheries and all aquatic organisms, and support participation in cutting-edge research in these fields.
• Supports the interaction with FishBase and SeaLifeBase users and partners worldwide to make sure their needs and contributions are accommodated.