IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN CONSULTATION AND INTERACTION WITH THE BROADER OCEAN COLOUR SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY THE INTERNATIONAL OCEAN COLOUR COORDINATING GROUP (IOCCG) RESOLVED TO CONVENE BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL OCEAN COLOUR SCIENCE (IOCS) MEETINGS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD. THE GOAL OF THESE MEETINGS IS TO PROVIDE A FORUM FOR DISCUSSION OF VARIOUS TOPICS RELATED TO OCEAN COLOUR RADIOMETRY AND TO ENGAGE THE LARGEST POSSIBLE NUMBER OF OCEAN COLOUR SCIENTISTS IN THE GLOBAL USER COMMUNITY THUS HELPING TO EXPOSE CRITICAL ISSUES OF MUTUAL CONCERN. TO DATE TWO HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN GERMANY (MAY 2013) AND THE UNITED STATES (SAN FRANCISCO JUNE 2015) SPONSORED BY NASA NOAA ESA EUMETSAT AND CNES. REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL THE MAJOR SPACE AGENCIES WITH AN INTEREST IN OCEAN-COLOUR RADIOMETRY ATTEND THESE MEETINGS HELPING TO BRING TOGETHER BOTH THE USERS AND THE PROVIDERS OF OCEAN COLOUR DATA FOR IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS OF REQUIREMENTS FOR OCEAN-COLOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. RESEARCH SCIENTISTS FROM NASA AND OTHER U.S. INSTITUTIONS HAVE PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN BOTH MEETINGS ACTING AS KEYNOTE SPEAKERS OR CHAIRS/CO-CHAIRS FOR BREAKOUT SESSIONS COVERING A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS. THESE MEETINGS EXPOSE SCIENTISTS TO NEW SUBJECT AREAS AND IDEAS THUS FACILITATING THE PRODUCTION OF NEW OCEAN COLOUR PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS IN SUPPORT OF VARIOUS IMPORTANT EARTH SCIENCE QUESTIONS INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE. THE IOCCG IS REQUESTING $40 020 SUPPORT FROM NASA AS A CO-SPONSOR OF THE THIRD IOCS MEETING WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON 15-18 MAY 2017 IN LISBON PORTUGAL.