NESP MaC Project 5.2 – A toolkit for ranger-led seagrass monitoring in northern Australia Sea Country, 2025-2026 (JCU, CDU, ECU)

Updated: 2026-06-25

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 'A toolkit for ranger-led seagrass monitoring in northern Australia Sea Country'. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Monitoring of key habitats is increasingly being led by Indigenous Ranger groups. It is important that this information, across the whole of northern Australia, is collected in a reliable and consistent manner. Our project will develop a robust framework for monitoring seagrass habitats across northern Australia, ensuring consistent and reliable data collection to support conservation and management efforts. By partnering with Indigenous rangers, researchers, and local filmmakers, we will co-create visually engaging training materials and establish a monitoring decision-making framework tailored to diverse Sea Country environments, ranger resources, and monitoring questions. This research is crucial for managing culturally and economically significant species like dugongs and green turtles, aligning with national priorities and the NESP2 guidelines by promoting Indigenous-led conservation efforts and enhancing environmental data quality. Planned Outputs • Framework for seagrass monitoring across northern Australia • Seagrass monitoring datasets across northern Australia [spatial data] • A set of short-films, posters, flyers, and manuals demonstrate value of seagrass, monitoring methods and species identification • Final technical report with analysed data and summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]