Ocean Data is still an after-thought of most marine science and conservation institutions. The Chief Data Officer role is non-existent, funding mechanisms focus on primary collection and neglect operational data governance, and data sharing vaires from FTP servers to bespoke online catalogs. Standards are not well known or implemented. Best and Worst practices in Ocean Data Governance are rarely discussed and forums for knowledge exchange are needed. To bridge the gap between widespread Data Governance programs in the private sector and non-existent programs in marine science and conservation, The Ocean Data Alliance is convening a global Ocean Data Governance Council to develop an Ocean Data Maturity Model that will benchmark organizational data governance practices against industry standard best practices and help institutions develop action plans, technology roadmaps, impact and data asset revenue.