Monitoring and reporting the condition of nearshore habitats helps scientists and managers to assess the effects of pressures on these habitats, which allows better management and prioritisation of action to support a healthy Great Barrier Reef. We need to know:

• when and where river flows and flood waters affect inshore marine waters, and what pollutants are carried by them;
• how extreme events and chronic pressures affect important Great Barrier Reef habitats;

whether habitats are recovering and conditions improving or getting worse, based on long-term trends in water quality (turbidity/water clarity, nutrients), coral and seagrass condition.