The Ocean Data Viewer offers users the opportunity to view and download a range of spatial datasets that are useful for informing decisions regarding the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity. These decisions ultimately affect the ocean's health and productivity, which provide the ecosystem services that are necessary for our well-being, livelihoods, and survival. To date, the users of this tool have included government agencies, scientists, researchers, the corporate sector, and non-governmental organisations.

These data come from internationally respected scientific institutions and other organisations that have agreed to make their data available to the global community, with the hope that these data will support and encourage informed decision-making that sustains global biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The Ocean Data Viewer is primarily a mechanism to view and download data, and is not intended to be used for analysis or to query data.