This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Quantifying the ecosystem services of the Great Southern Reef". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- The Great Southern Reef (GSR) is an interconnected system of reefs dominated by kelp forests spanning over 8,000 km along southern Australia. It is a global hotspot for marine biodiversity and endemism, and one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Kelp forests, however, are diminishing and evidence-based management is hindered without accurate estimates of their contribution to society and the economy. This project systematically compiled and synthesised existing data on the ecosystem values and services provided by the GSR, including market and non-market values. These assessments were aligned with existing accounting standards to ensure compatibility with ongoing and future efforts. The outcome presented the first steps in the iterative process of quantifying the economic value of ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef. Outputs • Inventory of data collated and assessed for the purpose of developing ecosystem accounts for GSR • Final technical report with analysed data, including a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings (written)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Assessing the condition of natural values within priority temperate Australian Marine Parks to evaluate management effectiveness". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Parks Australia has developed an adaptive management approach to the Australian Marine Parks (AMPs), which cover 48% of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone. Key to the success of this framework is robust biological and ecological data to assess the performance of management approaches. The project will collect data to measure the trend in natural values to allow for evaluation of management performance at various levels on the continental shelf regions of four AMPs: Hunter (Temperate East Network), Beagle (South-east Network), South-west Corner and Geographe (South-west Network). These AMPs were selected based on previous partnerships between Parks Australia and NESP projects. This project aligns with Parks Australia’s science plans, supporting adaptive management and addressing emerging threats. Marine sampling and monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be used to systematically collect data that will provide trusted scientific evidence for decision-makers, aiding in effectively safeguarding the ecological integrity of these marine ecosystems. Outputs • Fish scoring data from BRUV, BOSS and ROV platforms [dataset] • Benthic imagery with annotations from AUV platform [dataset] • Lobster catch data [dataset] • Spatially-referenced highlight videos/imagery for communication purposes [dataset] • Final project report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "A national inventory of implemented nature-based solutions to mitigate coastal hazards". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Climate change and population growth are accelerating the need for diverse solutions to coastal protection. Traditionally, shorelines are armoured with conventional "hard" or "grey" engineering structures such as seawalls which are non-adaptive and come with significant economic, environmental and social costs. While hard structures will continue to have a place in coastal protection, alternative methods that are more sustainable and climate-resilient should be more broadly adopted into the future where appropriate. Living shorelines harness natural ecosystems to reduce coastal erosion and flooding and provide co-benefits such as carbon sequestration. They may consist of dunes, wetlands and biogenic reefs: either alone (‘soft approach’) or in combination with hard structures (‘hybrid approach’). To date, nature-based solutions have been underutilised in Australia, due at least in part to decision-makers needing clearer guidelines for when a soft, hybrid or hard coastal defence approach is most appropriate. This resulted in the publication of a foundational guide (led by Morris and Swearer and delivered under ESCC Hub Project 5.9: Natural habitats for coastal protection and carbon sequestration) to inform the national use of nature-based methods for coastal hazard risk reduction. In the process of producing these guidelines, the lack of a national inventory of coastal protection projects already using nature-based methods was identified by end-users as a priority to enable their wider adoption as an adaptation strategy in Australia. This project generated an online inventory of all current and planned on-ground actions by coastal land managers that have implemented a nature-based solution (NBS) to mitigate coastal hazards. From this, the "Living Shorelines Australia" (https://livingshorelines.com.au) database was created. This inventory inventory is the first step in identifying best practice, which will inform the future development of detailed technical design guidelines for implementing different nature-based methods in Australia. Outputs • A national inventory of existing implemented nature-based solutions to mitigate coastal hazards [dataset] • Final Project Report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Delivery of science to support the implementation of a marine park management effectiveness system". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Parks Australia has developed an adaptive management approach to the Australian Marine Parks (AMPs). This Management Effectiveness (ME) system is designed to allow Parks Australia to test the effectiveness of the AMP system and ensure that AMPs are effectively and appropriately managed. Parks Australia have identified priorities for research to assist in the implementation of the ME system, to identify scientific outputs needed for network management and adapt to new issues in the marine environment through the Australian Marine Parks Science Plan. This project will deliver several of the key science needs identified in the plan and will draw on the combined expertise of the partners and scientists within the Marine and Coastal Hub to generate the outcomes which build onto extensive work previously delivered. The project will deliver the following four outputs required for the 2028 National AMP management plan review: 1) Develop monitoring protocols for Tier 1 & 2 priority monitoring sites to assess the effectiveness of management arrangements; 2) Improve workflows for assessing natural values, activities and pressures; 3) Identify and define impacts and management options for emerging industries; and 4) Improve overall understand the entire AMP system through increased collaboration. Outputs • Updated national-scale spatial datasets of: (1) Natural Values Ecosystems; (2) Key Natural Values; (3) Pressures & Activities; (4) Cumulative impacts; (5) Ecosystem-level risk assessment (absolute risk) [datasets] • Refined list of monitoring priorities for AMPs [written] • Monitoring protocols for monitoring priorities [written] • Final project report [written]

This study created a size-structured stock assessment model to examine the population dynamics and fishing impacts on the long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The model tracks urchin abundance and growth through size classes over time, using a transition matrix to determine how individuals grow each year, for nine (9) East Coast Tasmanian regions described by Ling and Keane (2018). It begins in 1960 with no population, reflecting the species' first recorded presence in Tasmania in 1978. The model runs until 2160, but the focus of the paper and results is for management options in the next 5 to 10 years, plus retrospective examination for the past 15 years since commercial fishing began. The model generates data through the model testing and fitting process. Output files are defined by three 'classes' (biomean, fitsum, nevermean), with each class producing results for the nine different geographic regions. (1) 'biomean' is predicted urchin density (kg/m2) for each region; (2) 'fitsum' is the Rstan-produced model fit for each region, where the model provides a fit of an equation for recruitment over time based on a sigmoidal increase function; (3) 'nevermean' is the predicted/projected urchin density if no commercial fishing ever occurred for each region. The modelling process is fully described in the associated journal article (in final preparation). A description of files is provided in the 'Lineage' section of this record.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2023 project "Improving data on the distribution and ecological value of temperate subtidal seagrass in tayaritja (Furneaux Group of Islands), Tasmania". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Seagrass meadows are a dominant marine ecosystem of tayaritja (Furneaux group of Islands) in the north-eastern waters off Tasmania, with historical coarse mapping indicating extensive beds of Posidonia, Amphibolis, Hetreozostera and Zostera seagrass. The beds of Posidonia and Amphibiolis are potentially some of the largest and deepest extents found in temperate waters of Australia. Lack of data on the distribution and ecological value of these seagrass habitats represents a significant knowledge gap in understanding Australian wetland natural assets that provide a range of ecological, social, cultural and economic values. This project aims to map the extent and ecological composition, population structure and blue carbon value of the seagrass beds around tayaritja in partnership with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. This project will help managers and the Aboriginal communities to understand the significance of these seagrass meadows and understand how they may be monitored. Outputs • Seagrass extent and composition map for Furneaux group [dataset] • Video and imagery of seagrass [dataset] • Final project report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "OzSET: Integration and publication of the Australian Surface Elevation Table dataset". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Australia’s coastal floodplains and wetlands provide essential ecosystem services and have immense cultural value. They regulate water quality, moderate flood and storm damage, and provide habitat for marine life including commercial fish and shellfish species. These environments are threatened by accelerating rates of sea-level rise. A national approach is needed to monitor and assess the way coastal floodplains and wetlands are changing in response to sea level rise. A useful measure of resilience is the extent to which coastal wetland sediments can accrete vertically at a rate matching that of sea-level rise. Assessing the resilience, or vulnerability, of these environments requires measurements of rates of vertical accretion, subsidence and elevation gain across a range of coastal settings. The Surface Elevation Table-Marker Horizon (SET-MH) technique measures the vertical accretion of coastal wetland sediments. This enables assessment of whether wetlands are keeping pace with sea level rise (measured at tide gauges), or subsiding relative to local sea level rise and thus vulnerable to permanent inundation and loss. Australia’s network of Surface Elevation Tables is one of the most extensive in the world, consisting of over 200 benchmark monitoring stations from Westernport Bay, Victoria to Darwin Harbour, NT. The network has developed largely without national coordination, and the data gathered have not been readily available to the research community or research users. This project collated SET data on accretion, subsidence and elevation change in mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses and tidal freshwater forests, and provides an initial analysis of accretion and surface elevation trends. This information is vital to coastal risk assessment, estimating blue carbon sequestration, and modelling potential predicted changes in other ecosystem services. Outputs • Collation of data from existing Surface Elevation Table (SET-MH) stations [dataset] • Final Technical Report

Ecosystems provide numerous services and benefits to society. While historically overlooked, these services are increasingly recognized and are now being mapped and accounted for. There are several approaches to mapping and evaluating these ecosystem services. In this report, we use two increasingly common approaches, Ocean Accounting and Welfare Economics, to evaluate ecosystem services for the Great Southern Reef. The Great Southern Reef is a network of rocky reefs dominated by temperate algal forests known as kelp. It spans over 8,000 Km of coastline and supports two thirds of the Australian population. Despite its presumed importance, there has been little work quantifying the extent and value of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef. Through a systematic review we assessed the current state of knowledge of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef. Using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) framework, we created an overview of the ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, and cultural) provided by the Great Southern Reef in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia. We then created metrics to quantify how these services benefit coastal societies in these five states. Highlight summaries include over 17 million Australians who live within 50 Km of the reef, 26 wild seaweed harvest companies, 115 tourism SCUBA operators, 1436 mapped dive sites, 18 million tourist visits each year, 16 temperate marine biology university programs, 43 books and films, key medical products, 23 tons of harvested seaweed, 1116 grams of carbon per m2 used for growth each year, 2,361 peer-reviewed scientific publications from 1976 to 2022, 186 marine protected areas, 2.16 million recreational fishers, and over 28 commercial fisheries with 20,000 tons of biomass taken each year. We then conducted economic evaluations using these biophysical values and the available information. Using a variety of approaches, we found that the total economic value of the Great Southern Reef was $11.56 billion each year. Individually the values were as follows, commercial fishing (producer surplus - $33.2 million), carbon sequestration (avoided damages - $37.8 million), nutrient cycling (avoided damages - $6,484 million), recreational fishing (consumer surplus - $1,668 million), diving and snorkelling (consumer surplus - $403 million), other recreational activities (consumer surplus $1,836 million), and the existence value (consumer surplus - $1,096 million).