Marine scientists from across Australia are meeting at laboratories this week as part of an ambitious $1 billion international attempt to record all life in the world's oceans, officials said on Wednesday. The International Census of Marine Life, being led by U.S. groups, could settle once and for all whether fabled animals such as Jules Verne's giant squid populate the uncharted ocean depths. Only around five percent of the world's oceans have been surveyed for marine life - mostly in coastal regions. The international census, expected to take 10 years, is being promoted by Jesse Ausubel of the U.S.-based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that fosters scientific programs.
