Iles, J.A., Cartwright, P.J., and Waltham, N.J. (2023) Whitsunday Water Quality Monitoring Blueprint for Tourism Operators: Annual report 2022-2023. Report. TropWATER, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

This citizen science project has brought together partners from a cross section of the Whitsunday community; the Partners include Reef Catchments, the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, North Queensland Bulk Ports, TropWATER (Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research) at James Cook University (JCU), along with Whitsunday Tourism Operators — Whitsunday Bareboat Operators Association (WBOA) and Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association (WCBIA).

The project aims to link together citizen science and research initiatives around water quality and reef health, to collaboratively develop a framework for connecting citizen science work with the regional report card partnership hosted by Reef Catchments. This project focuses on utilising proven research, science experience and methodology to train Whitsunday tourism operators to collect marine monitoring data at key locations. The citizen science program has established two new water quality monitoring sites in the Whitsunday region which are then regularly sampled and maintained by Tourism Operators during their day to-day activities. The objective of the program is to give Tourism Operators the direct opportunity to engage in the collection of water quality data throughout the region. The tourism community has a vested interest in the long-term health and functionality of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and are well positioned to lead solution-based monitoring, evaluation, and effective communication. This annual report covers the 12-month period from March 2022 to February 2023.

Item ID:	79696
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Keywords:	Whitsundays Tourism Operators, Citizen science, Water quality
Copyright Information:	© James Cook University, 2023.
Funders:	Reef Catchments (NRM), Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP), Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)
Date Deposited:	10 Aug 2023 03:52
FoR Codes:	41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring @ 100%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180299 Coastal and estuarine systems and management not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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