ALBERT

Description: The NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub (2015-2021) delivered a project that developed and progressed the adoption of nine national standards for marine survey design and sampling (field-manuals-marine-sampling-monitor-australian-waters). The project was a success, with 136 individuals from 53 organisations contributing to what is colloquially known as the SOPs (standard operating procedures). The SOPs are now considered best practices, being adopted at State, Commonwealth, and international levels by a range of users, including industry and in developing nations. Without taking the next steps and establishing national and long-term governance and application guidance, the SOPs run the risk of becoming outdated and being no longer fit-for-purpose as related to national marine monitoring objectives for key values and pressures. The first step in the development of a future framework for national marine standards is to solicit input from the marine science community about their needs. As such, we coordinated a workshop and questionnaire to collect this information (Advancing National Ocean Best Practices and Standards). The aims of the online workshop and questionnaire were: ● To improve the uptake and applicability of the national marine standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other best practices across diverse users; and ● To guide further actions on the development of future SOPs and how they are used. The workshop had 46 attendees, while the questionnaire had 47 respondents, both predominantly represented by people from Australia. High-level barriers to uptake of the SOPs were related to funding, awareness, training, content, and institutional support. Workshop participants also identified operational barriers and potential solutions. Importantly, there was consensus to continue the SOP program in the long-term, including the possible inclusion of methods, guides, and practices outside of NESP. Feedback from workshop participants and questionnaire participants was summarised into the following broad recommendations: ● Develop new SOPs, including those currently planned for NESP 2.2 (drop cameras, socioeconomic surveys, microplastics) as well as SOPs related to eDNA, drones, sub-bottom profiling, threatened and protected species, and underwater visual census ● Develop revised SOPs to provide clearer or more specific data release guidelines, updated guidelines regarding Indigenous partnerships, engagement and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property, glossary or list of standardised terminology and case studies to highlight diversity of users and objectives. ● Increase relevance to other user groups, particularly First Nations, by understanding the needs, preferences and capabilities of these groups and using this information to tailor existing SOPs or develop new ones as required. ● Establish an oversight committee to develop and implement a national best practice endorsement process; identify the need for new and revised SOPs, facilitate accessibility and uptake of SOPs, and track uptake and impact. The input described in this report will be used in a 2024 implementation plan to guide the future of the SOP program.

Description: Published

Description: Refereed