"Any coves and beaches which face the prevailing wind will be full of fishing debris and general rubbish..."
As this is my backyard, I have to comment here despite every other comment about WA coast being deleted.
Think extemely isolated, tiny population. There will be some rubbish, but this is not Asia or Europe. The biggest challenge is the isolation combined with the fact that the coast from Geraldton to Exmouth has many challenging areas of cliffs etc.
SAR operations need support services and there are some real practical obstacles to deal with in this region. That is why if someone who has SAR experience in this state has a professional viewpoint on this, I'd be interested to hear more.
It is obviously possible to conduct a search in littoral areas but as with every other aspect of the search for MH370 so far, it would be a tough assignment, depending on how narrowed down the focus area could be. Ideally if some debris were carried to a populated/serviced/accessible area, the job would be easier.
TOMNOD? If we are down to looking for seat coverings and life jackets, I'm not sure this would help from what I've seen of crowd-sourcing up till now. But why not if it gives people the chance to feel involved?