Driven by almost a century of sustained plankton observations, scientific excellence and innovation, the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) aims to become a globally recognised leader on the impacts of environmental change on the health of the oceans. SAHFOS is an internationally funded independent research organisation responsible for the operation of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey. It provides the scientific and policy communities with a basin-wide and long-term measure of the ecological health of marine plankton. The database is used by researchers and policy makers to examine important science pillars such as climate change, human health, fisheries, biodiversity, pathogens, invasive species and ocean acidification. SAHFOS monitors the pulse of the oceans through the plankton and contributes to the significant scientific effort that advises political decisions on a global scale.