Australian Marine Institute of Science (Australia)

Australian Marine Institute of Science

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is Australia’s tropical marine research agency.
They play a pivotal role in providing large-scale, long-term and world-class research that helps governments, industry and the wider community to make informed decisions about the management of Australia’s marine estate. The AIMS is committed to undertaking research that addresses real needs and provides impartial, authoritative advice that supports both the protection and sustainable use of Australia’s marine heritage, now and in the future.

Microplastics are contaminants of emergent concern and are ubiquitous in the marine environment globally.
With the levels of marine microplastic contamination likely increasing due to increased plastic production and no substantial changes in solid waste management, scientists and governments are interested in microplastic monitoring programmes that can help to better inform environmental management.

In Australia, microplastic contamination has been reported throughout the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). However, a comprehensive understanding of the status and trends of this contamination in the region is lacking due to the limited number of studies in relation to the GBRWHA area, as well as the absence of seasonal and temporal information on levels of microplastic contamination.

To address this knowledge gap, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has been routinely collecting seawater samples in inshore areas of the GBRWHA since February 2017 to monitor microplastic presence, abundance, and characteristics.

In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation is supporting a collaborative project between AIMS and Eurofins to analyse samples from the inshore GBRWHA for microplastic contamination and assess analytical procedures to streamline seawater sample processing and analysis for marine microplastic monitoring programmes. 

These project contribute to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals