See Salt: Recommendations for engaging oyster growers in community-based coastal monitoring programs

Aquatic monitoring of estuarine and coastal waters remains limited due to steep maintenance requirements for in situ hardware stemming from rapid biofouling and harsh environmental conditions. Monitoring sites will also ideally span a mix of shoreline and open water locations, and the need to travel to remote locations can strain resources and limit the geographic footprint of coastal monitoring programs. To overcome these limitations, we explored opportunities to partner with aquatic industry professionals who work on the water and may be able to incorporate routine site visits for sensor maintenance as part of their day-to-day routines. We specifically focused on collaborating with oyster growers to collect continuous salinity and water level observations on their farms, as part of a community-enabled monitoring program we named “See Salt.” In this short communication, we present the See Salt program as a case study and provide recommendations for others who may be interested in establishing a similar community-supported coastal monitoring program. Our recommendations include the following: (1) establish multi-method evaluation strategies to gain insights on program improvement, (2) invest in hardware that can go long durations without recalibration and cleaning, and (3) provide participants with the equipment and training needed to maintain sensors and validate measurements on their own. While we focus on our experiences monitoring salinity and water levels with oyster growers, the recommendations are not specific or unique to these variables or this partner population; our findings are broadly applicable to aquatic monitoring performed in partnership with non-academic professionals.