Management Concern: Moderate    

State of Knowledge: Low

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Visitors to the Great Barrier Reef are consistently very happy with their visit and would recommend the experience.
  
• Marine tourism extends throughout the Great Barrier Reef, but its impacts are concentrated in a few intensively managed areas.
• The predicted increase in tourism and recreational use of the region may result in more conflicts of use and loss of amenity, but there is no evidence of this to date.
• Typically people visit the Great Barrier Reef to enjoy swimming, fishing, boating and snorkelling. There is limited information about many species targeted by fishing and of the survival success of discarded species resulting in a poor understanding of the ecosystem effects of fishing.
• Climate related changes to the ecosystem are expected to seriously affect Reef-based industries and communities and could affect patterns of use and visitor satisfaction.
• The impact of catchment run-off on inshore areas is expected to continue to affect the economic value of associated Reef-based industries.
  
• A decline in inshore habitats will have social implications for coastal communities.

What do we know?

Relevant pages from Outlook Online include:

• Economic value of recreational activities
• Range of activities undertaken by recreational users
• Conflicts of use and overcrowding
• Visitor satisfaction
• Marine tourism impacts on the Great Barrier Reef 
• Impacts of tourism and recreational use on the Great Barrier Reef
• Impacts of pontoons on the Great Barrier Reef
• Moorings 
• Effects on coral from SCUBA divers 
• Impacts of fish feeding at tourist pontoons
• Effectiveness of no anchoring areas
• Vulnerability of Great Barrier Reef tourism to climate change
• Scientific consensus statement on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Reef exposure to river contaminants ecosystem risk index
  
• Catchment influence on the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Development intensification and water quality pressures on the Great Barrier Reef ecosystems
• Population and urban growth in the Great Barrier Reef catchment
• Population centres in Queensland and Great Barrier Reef catchment 
• Population projections 
  
• Queensland's coast - managing its future: a position paper on coastal management in Queensland
• Loss of coastal wetlands 
• Fishing catch from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Commercial fishing: retained catch trophic composition 
• Recreational fishing catch composition from 2005 diary program
• Annual status reports for Queensland fisheries 
• Stock assessment reports for Queensland fisheries 
• East coast fin fish fishery independent review
• Non-retained commercial fishing catch in 2007 
• Discards from the reef line fishery in the Great Barrier Reef 
• Sharks and rays: sustainability of target and bycatch species 
• Inshore net fishery bycatch
• Risk assessment of northern Australia sharks and rays
• Effects of zoning on coral trout
• Impact of by-catch reduction devices in the Queensland trawl fishery
• Use of by-catch reduction devices (BRD's) 
• Impact of commercial net fisheries on dugong, dolphin and turtle populations
• Strandings of cetaceans in Queensland and interactions with the Queensland shark control program
• The commercial dugong fishery in Queensland – 1847 to 1969
• East coast otter trawl fishery closures- effects on habitat and species
• Recovery of seabed biota after trawling
• Fishing offences
• Decline in shark catch in the Queensland shark control program (1962-2001)
• Decline in shark catch in the Queensland shark safety program (1992-2005)
• Capture of sharks and sawfish in the Queensland shark control program between 1964 and 1970 in the Townsville area 
• Historical population estimates for dugong in the Great Barrier Reef
• Fisheries: gear type and impacts on habitats and protected species
• Recreational fishing: comparison of spearfishing and line fishing
• Effects of line fishing on Great Barrier Reef
• Impacts of marine debris, fishing lines and hooks on marine turtles
• Impact of entanglement in crab pots on marine turtles

Existing policies and management actions

• Tourism operators are tackling climate change
  
• Policies and guidelines for managing tourism and recreational use
  
• Environmental Impact Management Policy [900KB]
  
• Policy on managing tourism permissions to operate in the GBRMPA, including allocation, latency and tenure
  
• Policy on moorings in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Policy on managing bareboat operations in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park [530KB]
  
• Guidelines for coral transplantation
  
• Guidelines for the management of artificial reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Guidelines for managing visitation to seabird breeding islands
  
• High standard tourism operations
  
• Ecocertification of Marine Park operators
  
• 15 year permits
  
• Tourist visitation to directly managed sites
  
• Site Management Arrangements   
  
• Responsible Reef Practices
  
• Vessel sewage management
  
• Tourism, recreation and community engagement
  
• Communicating with tourism and recreation stakeholders
  
• International recognition of tourism management achievements 
• Impact of pontoons on the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Mon Repos turtle watching
  
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
• Plans of Management
• Australian Government policy on climate change 
• Queensland Government climate change policies and strategies 
• Climate Change Action Plan 2007-2012
• Permits
• Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program
  
• Eye on the Reef Program
  
• Improving water quality
• Coastal ecosystem protection
• Water quality guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Regional water quality improvement plans
• GBRMPA involvement in coastal development planning and assessment
  
• Reef Guardian Councils
  
• Sewage discharges from marine outfalls to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park [107KB]
  
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
  
• State Coastal Management Plan 2002 
• Fisheries: legislative management arrangements
• Fisheries: other management tools
• Fisheries: information systems 
• Implementation of World Trade Organisation (WTO) conditions and recommendations from the latest EPBC assessment: progress by fishery
• East coast fin fish fishery independent review
• Fish spawning aggregation protection
  
• 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

• Review of management arrangements for swim with dwarf minke whale activities
• Overarching Great Barrier Reef tourism strategy
• Great Barrier Reef recreation strategy.

Defined research questions

• What are the thresholds of concern for reef ecosystems subject to both climate change impacts and high levels of visitation?
  
• How will economic revenues of Reef-dependant industries be affected by climate change?
  
• What are the current and predicted impacts of climate change – in combination with other pressures – on Great Barrier Reef tourism?
  
• What adaptation options are possible to reduce current and future predicted climate change impacts on Great Barrier Reef industries and communities?
  
• What resilience and restoration options exist to protect high-use tourism sites?
  
• What is the cost-benefit and risk of employing coral reef restoration measures at tourism sites affected by climate change?
  
• What mitigation measures can tourism operators adopt to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and lessen their environmental impact on the reef?
  
• What are the potential consequences of alternative land use and resource management systems on coral bleaching and ecological thresholds, and on social and economic systems in the Great Barrier Reef?

Related information

• Current Research and Monitoring