The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global aquatic research, data management and partnership platform headquartered at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. OTN’s mission is to inform the stewardship and sustainable management of aquatic animals by providing knowledge on their movements, habitats and survival in the face of changing global environments. Since 2008, OTN has been deploying acoustic and satellite tagging systems, oceanographic monitoring equipment and marine autonomous vehicles (gliders) in key ocean locations and inland waters around the world. OTN’s technical capabilities continue to expand with the addition of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and side scan sonar systems. OTN is changing the way we understand our oceans and connected freshwater systems, and the life that moves within them. New technologies are providing a window into the underwater world; at the same time, the way this information is stored, managed, shared and visualized is creating and sustaining networks around the globe. Together, the Network and its collaborators are tracking animals, connecting people and transforming global oceans management.