Data Taskforce has been established under the GCRMN Steering Committee to increase the transparency, reproducibility, and robustness of future GCRMN reports, and to support the four primary goals of the GCRMN. 

The objectives and expected deliverables are to:

1. Integrate major individual datasets on benthic cover on coral reefs based on the FAIR data principles, starting with the GCRMN Pacific region as a pilot study.
2. Recommend approaches to enhance coral reef data management, attribution, sharing, access, and integration. (e.g. use of platforms such as ReefCloud, MERMAID, etc.)
3. Recommend inter-platform standards to integrate datasets, based on existing global standards. (e.g. Darwin Core)
4. Recommend an implementation strategy for selected approach(es) and standards.
5. Develop code-based tools for condition and trend analyses of coral reef monitoring data. (e.g. publicly-available Github scripts)
6. Produce manuals and training material for the use of developed tools and approaches.

The Data Task Force is co-chaired by Dr. Erica Towle and Dr. Jérémy Wicquart. Of the several existing data platforms dedicated to benthic cover monitoring data, MERMAID and ReefCloud are well-known, therefore two members were recently added to the GCRMN data task force to represent those platforms, Dr. Emily Darling (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Dr. Manuel Gonzalez Rivero (Australian Institute of Marine Science).