Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team

[1] With the help of hundreds of volunteers, COASST assesses beach conditions and identifies and tracks any carcasses of dead seabirds found.

COASST works with state, tribal, and federal agencies, environmental organizations, and community groups to help achieve their goals of monitoring and successfully establishing marine conservation solutions.

Due to the increasing human use of coastal waters, Parish envisioned a program that could provide data on both resident and migrant species of birds; mortality rates after oil spills; levels of chronic oiling, information regarding some incidents of entanglement with fishing gear; and causes of death for seabird populations.

[1] In July 1998, Parrish obtained a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to fund her vision of creating a seabird monitoring program that would generate baseline data to help assess patterns of seabird mortality due to natural and human-induced events.

[citation needed] The observations of COASST volunteers on jellyfish have been published in both the scientific literature[3] and the popular press.