In 1991, CSIRO was approached to design and manage an environmental study of the Bay to seek answers to questions concerning the sustainable use and management of the Bay. The Study began in October 1992 and finished in June 1996. The Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study was managed by CSIRO and supervised by a Management Committee chaired by the (then) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Also represented on the committee were the EPA, Melbourne Water, Melbourne Parks and Waterways and the former Port of Melbourne Authority. The Study was totally funded by Melbourne Water and Melbourne Parks and Waterways. In all, some 47 research tasks were conducted, ranging from scientific literature reviews to fullscale field surveys. All were contracted out. Of the 30 contractors, six were Victorian State agencies, three Commonwealth agencies, nine universities and 12 consultants. Nineteen contractors were Victorian based, seven from interstate and four from overseas. The research programs covered the fields of physical oceanography, toxicants, algal nutrients, marine ecology and ecological modelling.
A final report was delivered "PORT PHILLIP BAY ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY FINAL REPORT" :Harris, G., G. Batley, D. Fox, D. Hall, P. Jernakoff, R. Molloy, A. Murray, B. Newell, J. Parslow, G. Skyring and S. Walker. (1996). Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study Final Report. CSIRO, Canberra, Australia. Published on CD ROM by CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 1999.) 47 technical reports were also produced.
In additition in April 2007 a data set collection was supplied to CMAR Data Centre by Dr John Parslow (CMAR) on CD ROM, and relates to the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study conducted between 1992 and 1996. These datasets include:
Bathymetric data, Coastline data, Data from current meters and coastal radar, Flow data for rivers, creeks and drains, Various meteorological data sets, Water salinity and temperature data, Data sets from various tide gauges and Sediment related data sets. The CD ROM also includes electronic copies of the Overview Report 39pp, Final report 248pp and the 47 Technical reports.
26, May 2015, Received Port Phillip Bay Environmental StudyData, GIS and Reports CD-ROM created by CSIRO Environmental Projects Office - robert.molloy@csiro.au (2003) from Lawrance Ferns Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (lawrance.ferns@delwp.vic.gov.au). Added to PortPhillipBayDATA_additonal netwrok archive and media items.
