Reducing the environmental harm caused by plastics across Australia’s coastal and marine industries.
4C – Good things in tough times
OceanWatch Australia is confronting the pervasive use of plastic in marine and coastal management by critically examining and challenging current practices across several sectors.
In the oyster industry, it is investigating the lack of viable end-of-life solutions for plastic waste and shell by-products, aiming to shift the industry away from unsustainable, linear waste models. In longline fishing, OceanWatch studied light stick use and trialled non single use alternatives with the same lens applied to recreational bait bags.
Its Living Shorelines projects question the continued reliance on synthetic materials in habitat restoration, promoting nature-based, plastic-free solutions instead. Estuary cleanups, while necessary, expose the scale and persistence of plastic pollution—often symptomatic of systemic issues in waste management and policy enforcement.
Through targeted research and interventions, industry engagement, and policy advocacy, OceanWatch is pushing for meaningful change, not just short-term fixes, to reduce the environmental harm caused by plastics across Australia’s coastal and marine industries.
