Eye on the Reef is a powerful monitoring program that enables anyone who visits the Great Barrier Reef to collect valuable information on its health.

The program has a range of reporting tools designed to suit people with different skills and experience. This means people from all walks of life — from tourists through to experienced researchers - can report their Reef sightings and observations to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

All of the information collected through the Eye on the Reef program is combined in a single data management and reporting system. This gives Marine Park managers and researchers up-to-date information on reef health status and trends, the distribution of protected and iconic species, and early warnings of environmental impacts.

The program has two citizen science tools - the Sightings Network and Rapid Monitoring program.

The Sightings Network has a free smartphone app which enables users to send in real-time sightings while they’re still out on the Reef, and also share their sightings with Facebook friends.

The Rapid Monitoring program enables people with little to moderate experience to record their underwater observations of Reef health indicators. It uses simple science to introduce people to the main threats affecting the Reef.

The program has two other tools that require training and experience - Tourism Weekly monitoring and Reef Health and Impact Surveys.

Visit the Eye on the Reef website.

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