COASTWATCH SURVEY

The Coastwatch Survey is designed to give an overview of the state of the coast. It involves volunteers from all walks of life checking their chosen 500m stretch of coast (survey unit) once around low tide, and jotting observations down on the survey questionnaire while on the shore. This citizen science work can be augmented with water tests. Data is then collected and pooled to provide a snapshot of the state in areas surveyed at that time.

The Coastwatch survey was born in 1987 and has adapted over time with updates from paper maps to modern GIS and alignment to EU water law like the MSFD, WFD, Waste and Nature law. It covers several countries around Europe, with some common base questions that are identical and can be pooled for a European report.

ALL IRELAND

The All Ireland Survey takes place from September 15th to October 15th.

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PORTUGAL

Coordinated by GEOTA: Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente.

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SPAIN

Coordinated nationally by ACASTUR.

Coordintated regionally by different groups and organizations.

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SW of ENGLAND

The SW of England survey takes place from September 15th to October 15th (at the same time as the All Ireland survey)

International coordinator Karin Dubsky (Coastwatch Europe)

Go to map

MALTA

Update in progress

Got to map

ROMANIA

Update in progress

Go to map

GERMANY

Update in progress

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Surveys: Programs

COASTWATCH SURVEY RESULTS - OPEN DATA

The data collected by the hundreds of volunteers participating every year in the Coastwatch Survey, giving their time and energy for free, is published openly under a Creative Common license (CC BY-NC-SA).

Go to Survey Results

Surveys: Text