The Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan 2017-2027 (EMP) goal 'Water quality is improved to ensure environmental health and community enjoyment of the Bay' includes the priority area of litter.
The Litter Index identifies a methodology for evaluating the impact of marine litter on the environment to inform management decisions by identifying a litter priority area that can be used for reporting and drive continuous improvement. The Litter Index aims to synthesise available data and provide a framework to assess the state of litter and its impact on Port Phillip Bay.
The Litter Index categorises litter into micro or macro size and is evaluated by 2 defined litter assessment categories:
- Litter Profile consists of 2 indicators: litter area density and litter material composition.
- Marine Species Impacts consists of 2 indicators which are measured per year, litter amount ingested by marine life and the number of individual species entangled/injured by litter. While this assessment category is listed and defined in the index, the litter impact on marine life is currently not being assessed due to lack of data.
The holistic goal is to improve the litter status of priority areas and to target our focus for funding initiatives while maintaining a high confidence metric which is further described in the Litter Index document.
Data contributors and acknowledgements:
Page last updated: 17/04/24