Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

National Areas of Interest for Seabed Mapping and Biodiversity Characterisation: Building a Shared View for Australia (#433)

Scott Nichol 1 , Franzis Althaus 2 , Jacquomo Monk 3 , Aero Leplastrier 1 , Lachlan Hurst 4 , Natalie Lennard 1 , Kim Picard 1 , Piers Dunstan 2 , Neville Barrett 3 , Daniel Ierodiaconou 5 , Tim Ingleton 6 , Richard Brinkman 7 , Cath Samson 8 , Bob Muir 7 , Claire Streten 7 , Stephen Neale 7 , Marji Poutinen 7 , Tim Langlois 9
  1. Geoscience Australia, CANBERRA, ACT, Australia
  2. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  3. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  4. FrontierSI, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  5. Deakin University, Warrnambool, VIC, Australia
  6. NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  7. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  8. Parks Australia, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  9. University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

Understanding the needs for seabed and biodiversity data has been historically difficult to determine without extensive stakeholder engagement. As seabed data are time-consuming and costly to collect, survey planning and prioritisation should take into account the variety of needs and value associated with data collection. To this end, AusSeabed and the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub (MaC Hub) redeveloped the AusSeabed Survey Coordination tool to allow organisations to publish their seabed data needs through the AusSeabed portal as “Areas of Interest”. The process is designed to generate an understanding of geographic areas where there is the greatest cumulative need for data and for what purpose, informing prioritisation for data acquisition or legacy data release. It also empowers organisations to discover opportunities for collaboration where common interests may exist.

This talk will provide an overview of the “Areas of Interest” functionality and explore insights into the driving factors behind seabed and biodiversity characterisation data needs in the Australian Marine estate. We also discuss the ongoing collation of areas of interest and how this can help implement nationally funded programs such as the NESP MaC Hub, the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program, and sea time on the Marine National Facility.