What you need to know about the Whitsundays Plan of Management

Settings in the Whitsundays Planning Area

To help maintain a range of opportunities for visitors to the area, each reef, bay and coastal area within the Whitsundays Planning Area has been assigned a �setting�. Settings can also help protect areas of outstanding conservation, cultural or scientific value.

Setting limits apply to all users of the Planning Area. There are five settings, ranging from low use (Protected setting) to high use (Developed setting). The main factor is the group size that your vessel is carrying, but there are also some requirements regarding vessel length (refer to the table below). The settings usually apply to the area within the 1500 metre line of the reef edge (refer to the Whitsunday Planning Area Settings Map).

Site management arrangements have been developed for Setting 5 areas. View more information about site plans and site management arrangements.

Setting*	Vessel length	Group size
1. Developed	Max. 70 metres	No limit
2. High use	Max. 35 metres	No limit
3. Moderate use	Max. 35 metres	Max. 40 people
4. Natural	Max. 35 metres	Max. 15 people
5. Protected	Max. 20 metres	Max. 15 people

* Setting limits do not apply to anchored cruise ships and their service vessels or to large vessels (>35 metres) anchored at cruise ship anchorages, or to vessels in transit. Other management tools are used to ensure environmental sustainability.

Motorised water sports

Activities such as motorised water sports can disturb other users in the vicinity. Within the Whitsunday Planning Area: Humpback whale

Motorised water sports can only be undertaken:

In Setting 1 (Developed) areas
Outside Setting Areas (generally 1500 metres from the reef edge or coastline)
Within the Designated Motorised Water Sports Area, located on the western side of North Molle Island.

Personal watercraft may be used within the boundaries of all setting areas for transport by the most direct reasonable route between two places.

View a map of where motorised water sports can be undertaken in the Whitsundays.

View Responsible Reef Practices for motorised water sports.

Anchoring and mooring in the Whitsundays

Reef Protection Markers and No Anchoring Areas

There are some reef areas that are particularly vulnerable to anchor damage. You can help protect these vulnerable reefs by observing designated No Anchoring Areas (refer to table below). These areas are often marked by Reef Protection Markers, which are white, pyramid-shaped buoys with a blue Marine Parks label, positioned along an imaginary line.

When visiting a reef or bay that has a No Anchoring Area:

You may enter No Anchoring Areas when approaching or leaving moorings or beaches. You cannot anchor inside a No Anchoring Area or inshore of the line of buoys, however vessels may access and anchor on the beach when conditions allow.
You cannot attach your vessel or aircraft to a Reef Protection Marker.

No Anchoring Area locations in the Whitsundays

Marked No Anchoring Areas (shown by Reef Protection Markers)

Border Island

Daydream Island

Hayman Island

Hook Island

Langford Island

Unmarked No Anchoring Areas (no Reef Protection Markers present)

Bait Reef

Hook Island - Manta Ray Bay

Refer to the Whitsundays Plan of Management Settings Map and Schedule 5 of the Plan on the GBRMPA website for further details.

Please ensure you anchor with care outside the line of Reef Protection Markers.

View Responsible Reef Practices for anchoring and mooring.

Public moorings

You can use public moorings at a number of sites to help protect fragile reefs in these areas. Public moorings are blue-coloured buoys with a colour-coded band that signifies the �class� of the mooring. There are five classes of mooring, and you must ensure that you use a class of mooring that is suitable for your vessel and the weather. The relevant vessel length and wind conditions are displayed on the colour-coded band and marked plastic tag attached to the pick-up line.

Public moorings have been installed at the following sites in the Whitsundays:

Bait Reef � the lagoon and Manta Ray drop-off
Black Island Reef
Border Island � Cateran Bay and North-West Point
Daydream Island � Sunlovers Bay
Dumbell Island
Esk Island
Hayman Island � Blue Pearl Bay
Henning Island
Hook Island � East and West Butterfly Bay, Maureen�s Cove, Luncheon Bay, Manta Ray Bay, Pinnacle Bay, False Nara Inlet, Caves Cove and North and South Stonehaven Bay
Langford Reef
Whitsunday Island � Tongue Bay.

Periodically, some of these moorings may be out of commission or occasionally unavailable when being maintained. If a mooring is damaged or missing, please report this to Environmental Protection Agency.

Private moorings

Privately owned moorings have been installed by regular users of an area, including commercial tourism operators. The GBRMPA Moorings Register will help you identify privately owned, permitted moorings at a particular site. Private moorings are not generally available for public use. The moorings are private property and you must have the owner�s formal permission to use them.

View Responsible Reef Practices for mooring.

Tourism in the Whitsundays

Tourism is a significant use of the Whitsundays. During your visit, you may see a variety of tourism operations including day trip boats, bareboats and cruise ships. Cruise ship anchorages have been nominated to enable cruise ships to visit the Whitsunday Planning Area by providing an environmentally safe area for cruise ships to anchor.

Visit our Tourism and Recreation webpages for more information on tourism in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and how you can choose a high standard tour.