Only through the scientific design and development of ocean observing systems will Australia have the capacity to successfully monitor, predict, utilise and protect its vast marine environment. Our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the third largest in the world; but the influence of the Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans on Australia extends thousands of miles beyond those artificial boundaries.

In the past two decades, Australian governments, business, industry and science have begun investing in ocean monitoring as part of research into climate and rainfall, fisheries, defence, coastal pollution, ocean engineering, shipping and transport and environmental protection. Substantial gains have already come from that investment. The refinement of space and ocean technology, and recognition that ocean research offers significant returns, spawned many new projects and opportunities through the 1990s. Participation in international programs ensures wider benefits from a global ocean observing network, building a system Australia cannot possibly achieve alone.

In 1998, CSIRO Marine Research (CMR) and the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre (BMRC) created the Joint Australian Facility for Ocean Observing Systems (JAFOOS). This facility specialises in the scientific design of ocean observing systems relevant to Australia's needs, and is an effort to maximise available, although limited, resources to ensure the best regional outcomes from scientific research and environmental monitoring.