“What gets measured gets managed” is a common business management axiom that also applies to the management of biophysical assets and processes. But what is the best way to measure ecosystem value to optimise ecosystem management? In this paper we unpack three different paradigms for valuing ecosystems based on their use and benefits; 1) the ecosystem services paradigm operationalised by the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA); 2) the preference-based paradigm operationalised by the total economic value framework; and 3) the frameworks of value viewed from the perspectives of First Nations peoples. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses of these value paradigms in the context of the management of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), we build a hybrid valuation approach tailored to coastal ecosystems. The significance of our approach is the inclusion of the full range of benefits from all coastal and marine resource uses and users and therefore the integration of non-market and First Nations values into the more traditional market-based valuation approach. Assessments that jointly consider multiple values originating from these three different paradigms are more likely to produce sustainable management outcomes compared to alternative and more limited approaches.