Talk to your stakeholders

A stakeholder is:

Any person, group, business, or authority that may be interested in or affected by your study.

Before you start planning your beach surveys, you first need to identify authorities and organisations who oversee your chosen site, or who may be planning activities or clean-ups at the site. These stakeholders may be the municipality, beach office, life-saving clubs, local environmental groups, or community groups.

It is important to consult these stakeholders because they will be helpful in the following areas:

1. They may provide valuable information about the litter at the site (e.g., when it is dirtiest, where the litter may be coming from),
2. They will be able to tell you if, and when, any official clean-ups or public events are scheduled at your study site,
3. They will be able to tell you whether you will need special permission to sample at the site.

It is also important to speak to people or groups who regularly use the beach for religious or cultural reasons. In some areas, local communities may rely on the ocean for food and resources (e.g., fishing and harvesting). It is best to be open and honest about what you will be doing at the beach, to avoid any conflict or confusion with regular beach-users.

The first time you do a litter survey, you may have to contact many stakeholders to get a better understanding of activities in and around your study site. You will likely not need to contact all these stakeholders for every follow-up survey, but it is important to put together a list of the most relevant stakeholders for each study site. The individuals from these various offices or groups should be contacted each time you plan to conduct your survey.