Abstract: Long term monitoring has typically focused on the ecological components of the Great Barrier Reef. However, it has been increasingly recognised that it is essential to include and understand the people involved in this complex social-ecological system. The well-being of the ecosystem is critically linked to the well-being of the social system, and vice versa. The Social and Economic Long Term Monitoring Program (‘SELTMP’) is attempting to fill the current void in cross-sector social and economic data, to help ensure the inclusion of the social dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef in its management. The SELTMP includes groups such as Traditional Owners, the marine tourism industry, the commercial fishing industry, recreational users and coastal communities as well as ports and shipping, catchment industries and mining. The aim of the SELTMP is to assist policy makers and leaders to make decisions that not only enhance conservation goals, but also maximize the well-being of the region. This seminar gives an overview of the SELTMP and its underlying frameworks, and a preliminary viewing of a selection of secondary data and primary survey data collected from over 8000 residents, tourists, tourism operators and commercial fishers.

Biography: Renae Tobin is a social scientist with the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture and the School of Earth and Environmental Science at JCU. She has worked with Queensland fishers and fisheries and marine park managers through social science research for more than 10 years, making the transition from marine ecology to social science during her PhD. Her research has been primarily stakeholder driven and
therefore diverse, ranging from exploring conflict between sectors, investigating attitudes and perceptions of fishers and consumers to fisheries and their management, documenting effects of management change on industry, developing socio-economic indicators, investigating potential for co-management in regional areas, and exploring the adaptive capacity of industry to change.