GAIA Marine completed a high-level benthic habitat assessment in the Pilbara, using drop-camera imagery, georeferenced site records and a standardised habitat classification framework to support port maintenance and planning activities.
The survey was designed to characterise seabed habitat conditions across a defined port precinct area using a practical, repeatable drop-camera workflow. GAIA collected imagery across 90 defined sites, with 89 images accepted for interpretation following quality review. The system used a compact high-resolution camera in an underwater frame, deployed from a small vessel with GPS-supported navigation and post-survey geotagging to link imagery, site locations and habitat attributes.
The assessment identified a seabed dominated by soft-sediment habitat, with low relief and limited structural complexity. Across all assessed sites, the dominant habitat class was Sandy Plain, characterised by unconsolidated sand to muddy sand substrates. Sparse biological features, including isolated sponges, algal material and minor sessile organisms, were recorded as incidental indicators rather than habitat-forming assemblages. No visible evidence of recent anthropogenic disturbance was identified within the survey area.
This project demonstrates GAIA Marine’s ability to provide rapid, structured environmental survey outputs for nearshore infrastructure projects. The value was not just in collecting seabed images; it was in applying a consistent Benthic Community Habitat classification framework, quality-checking imagery, geotagging outputs and delivering a package that could be used directly by consultants, asset owners and GIS teams. That field-to-deliverable workflow is central to GAIA’s environmental monitoring capability.