These ecosystems are vital for the survival of a wide variety of marine wildlife including commercial fisheries, which rely on these ecosystems for shelter, food and as nursing grounds. Other vital ecosystem services include flood and storm protection and the processing of waste and nutrient pollution. Loss of these ecosystem services from further degradation will have a huge economic and social impact for our society. To prevent further degradation, SEQ Catchments have supported community based seagrass and mangrove monitoring programs throughout South East Queensland (SEQ) and encourage potential volunteers to join their local program.

Seagrass-Watch is an award winning, community based, habitat assessment program. Survey methods are scientifically rigorous but simple and easy to learn and the results help guide decision making in areas such as Marine Park planning and ecosystem health monitoring.

The Seagrass Watch programs for Moreton Bay, Noosa and Gold Coast regions has been supported by SEQ Catchments for the last 8 years in partnership with the wildlife Preservation society – Bayside Branch, DERM, Tangalooma Resort, Port of Brisbane, Queensland Conservation Council, Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program, Sea Stradbroke Ferries and the Norman Wettenhall Foundation.

Mangroves and tidal saltmarshes are amongst the most endangered marine wetland habitats worldwide. ‘MangroveWatch’ is a program that has been established to address the urgent need to preserve and protect threatened tidal wetland ecosystems as well as addressing both scientific and environmental management needs.

This new monitoring program targets estuarine and coastal systems where there are mangroves, saltmarsh and saltpans. Like Seagrass-Watch the program uses a partnership between community volunteers and scientists.