Research is helping to shape a national roadmap linking ocean health, communities, governance and the economy to strengthen how Australia uses evidence to manage its oceans.
Dr Tai Loureiro, from The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, was part of a national team of researchers and practitioners that developed an Ocean Accounting White Paper for the National Marine Science Committee, one of 21 papers informing the next National Marine Science Strategy 2026–2036.
The work has also led to a peer-reviewed article, An implementation roadmap for Australia's Ocean Accounts, published in the Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs.
"This is not about reducing the ocean to a single value or metric," Dr Loureiro said. "It is about creating a more integrated, evidence base so governments, industries and communities can make better-informed decisions."
Dr Loureiro's contribution drew on her background in marine biology, ecology and ocean governance, with a focus on how Ocean Accounts can connect ecosystem condition, environmental change, social and cultural values, governance and equity dimensions.
Her work helped strengthen the roadmap's emphasis on linking marine ecological evidence with the social and institutional contexts that shape ocean decision-making.
This included recognising that different communities, sectors and knowledge holders may relate to and benefit from the ocean in different ways.
The roadmap highlighted the importance of incorporating Indigenous, traditional and local knowledge where communities choose to participate, and where appropriate governance, cultural protocols and data sovereignty principles are in place.
From fragmented data to better decisions
"Australia has world-class marine science, extensive ocean industries and globally significant marine ecosystems," Dr Loureiro said.
"However, information needed for decision-making is often collected and reported in separate systems.
"Ocean Accounts help address this challenge by creating a shared framework for connecting data on ecosystem condition, economic activity, community wellbeing, governance, risk and sustainability.
"This can support governments, industries and communities in better understanding trade-offs, tracking change over time and making decisions that consider both ocean use and ocean health."
The national roadmap outlines a phased approach to implementing Ocean Accounts in Australia, including short-term priorities to strengthen data foundations and coordination; medium-term priorities to standardise and integrate accounts across jurisdictions; and long-term goals to achieve routine production of comprehensive national Ocean Accounts.
Beyond GDP: recognising many contributions
"A key message from the work is that Australia's oceans cannot be understood only through economic indicators such as production, employment or industry value," Dr Loureiro said.
"Ocean ecosystems also support food security, coastal protection, recreation, cultural connections, community wellbeing, climate regulation and long-term sustainable development.
"Ocean Accounts provides a way to bring these different dimensions together without reducing them to a single measure.
"Instead, they can show how ocean health, communities, governance and the economy are connected, and how decisions in one area can affect outcomes in another."
UWA contribution to a national agenda
Australia is well placed to contribute internationally to the development of Ocean Accounts.
While preparing for the next decade of marine science priorities, the roadmap points to a broader shift at the interface of ocean science and governance: moving from measuring ocean sectors in isolation to building evidence systems that reveal how marine ecosystems, economic activity and community wellbeing are connected.
UWA's contribution reflects the role universities can play in bridging science, policy and practice to support more integrated decisions for Australia's ocean future.
