Management Concern: High    

Adequacy of Information: Moderate

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Most predator populations are relatively healthy, but a few species are under serious pressure, with potential flow-on impacts.
• At some locations on the Great Barrier Reef there has been a marked decrease in populations of coral trout and some reef shark species, both of which are targeted by fishing activities. Sharks are also accidentally caught when other species are being targeted. This decline in predator abundance has resulted in an increase in their prey species in some places.
  

What do we know?

Relevant pages from Outlook Online include:

• Effects of zoning on coral trout
• Abundance patterns of predatory fishes
• Shark population density and zoning
• The effects of marine reserve protection on the trophic relationships 
• Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities
• No-take reserves protect coral reefs from predatory starfish
• Trophic structure on the Line Islands reefs 
• Restoring sea turtles populations to fulfil their ecological roles

Existing policies and management actions

• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
  
• Policy on managing activities that include the direct take of a Protected Species from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Fisheries: legislative management arrangements
• Fisheries: other management tools
• Fisheries: information systems 
• Implementation of WTO conditions and recommendations from the latest EPBC assessment: progress by fishery
• East coast fin fish fishery independent review
• Queensland Fisheries Strategy 2009-2014 
• Queensland Fisheries policies and legislation
  
• Queensland Fisheries monitoring 
• Queensland Management of Commercial Fisheries
  
• Queensland Management of Recreational Fisheries 

Future management requirements

• Future management requirements in this area are being guided by ongoing assessment of emerging research outcomes and issues identified by the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009.

Defined research questions

• There are currently no defined research questions for this topic. Research questions will be developed, giving priority to interactions/issues that are of most concern to management.

Related information

• Current Research and Monitoring