Looking after our marine and coastal environments

Marine and coastal values

Management agencies monitor the health of marine environments to ensure that our daily activities are sustainable and not harming the very things we value most. We all value clean and unpolluted oceans, healthy beaches, a safe place to swim and recreate, nice ocean vistas and oceans with plentiful fish. Maintaining these values is a responsibility we all share.

Many marine and coastal values are monitored and if they are under threat, action can be taken to manage potential impacts and prevent or minimise further damage.

What is marine monitoring?

To better understand why we monitor the marine environment, it is worthwhile looking at human health and how we measure and monitor our own health. Health in human terms can narrowly be defined as the absence of symptoms of disease or more broadly as the general condition of vitality and well-being. When a person is healthy, or functioning well in mind and body, they can perform all vital functions normally and properly. They are able to recover from normal stresses and require minimal care and maintenance.

To monitor our health we monitor a range of indicators such as the presence of pain, a general feeling of well-being, our pulse rate and/ or our body temperature. Changes in these indicators alert us of potential health problems before they become harmful or life threatening. If we do not leave it too late to address the problem, then there is a good chance that we can rectify it before it becomes too serious. The ability of a person to recover from disease, illness or extreme stress depends on their resilience and strength of health. The way we monitor our own health is comparable to how we might monitor environmental health.

How do we monitor the marine environment?

The health of the marine environment can be measured at three levels:

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  • learn about the habitats, plants and animals present under the water
  • increase awareness over the state or condition of your local marine environment
  • monitor what people are doing in the marine environment.
  • CoastBase opens the CoastBase database application (Registered Users Only)
By providing a series of monitoring methods, and a simple and structured way to record information the Marine Community Monitoring Program provides a framework to assist the community monitor the marine environment. You may choose to monitor the health of the marine environment to:

 

Information gathered can then be made available to others in the community, including local government, State and Commonwealth environmental management agencies, research institutes and environmental groups.

Further information

 

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