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Eye on the Reef is a reef monitoring and assessment program run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
The program enables anyone who visits the Great Barrier Reef to contribute to its long-term protection by collecting valuable information about reef health, marine animals and incidents.

Everyone’s contribution is welcome and people from all walks of life from day trippers, tourists, fishers, Marine Park rangers, marine tourism staff and marine scientists are encouraged to get involved and report their observations to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The Eye on the Reef App enables the sharing of photos and information of what has been seen out on the Reef. This can be anything from wildlife (including protected species,) to pests like Crown- of- thorns starfish or marine pollution, to special events like coral spawning. This app can also be used to help identify the wildlife by facilitating sharing of Eye on the Reef sighting photos on social media.

Rapid Monitoring Survey are a great way for reef users with a little more time and experience to get more involved and use an underwater monitoring slate to record more specific keystone species and crucial Reef health observations. Observations are uploaded through an online webpage for submission to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. An online multimedia training course is available to assist in completing these surveys.

For marine scientists, marine tourism operators and marine rangers, there are other surveys to get involved in that require more regular participation and commitment. These include Reef Health and Impact Surveys (RHIS), that are run in partnership with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. There is also a Tourism Operators Weekly Monitoring Survey. All information collected through the Eye on the Reef program is combined in a single data management and reporting system (Eye on the Reef Survey Activity map). This data provides Marine Park managers and researchers with up-to-date information on reef health status and trends, the distribution of protected and iconic species, and early warnings of environmental impacts. The data is available to all registered users.

Monitoring Organisation Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Name David Wachenfeld

Phone 07 4750 0896

Email david.wachenfeld@gbrmpa.gov.au

Position in organisation Director Reef Recovery, Biodiversity, Conservation & Sustainable Use

Activity Type science and research (e.g. monitoring activities, trials of innovative practices or new equipment)

Activity Indicators habitat and hydrology in estuarine zones

Activity location Central inshore zone, Don catchment, Northern inshore zone, O'Connell catchment, Offshore zone, Pioneer catchment, Plane catchment, Proserpine catchment, Southern inshore zone, Whitsunday inshore zone

Frequency of monitoring

Monitoring Start Date 01/01/2015

31/12/2018

Location of monitoring data

Date quality / confidence

Website URL http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/how-the-reefs-managed/eye-on-the-reef

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