Management Concern: High    

Adequacy of Information: Low

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• The region is of major importance to Traditional Owners and traditional use of and caring for their sea country reinforces Traditional Owner culture, protocols and connections to the Great Barrier Reef.
  
• Non-targeted catch (by-catch) in the commercial inshore net fishery includes a number of species of conservation concern that may be injured or killed in the nets. Some of these species, including turtle and dugong, are culturally significant to Traditional Owners.
• The Great Barrier Reef includes many places of cultural significance to Traditional Owners. Most common are sacred sites, story places and fish traps. On many islands and in areas directly adjoining the Great Barrier Reef there are shell middens and mounds, rock shelters, stone quarries, rock art sites, hearth and oven sites and stone artefact scatters.
• Marine tourism extends throughout the Great Barrier Reef but its impacts are concentrated in a few intensively managed areas.
• Increased concentrations of suspended sediments and agricultural chemicals are having significant effects inshore close to agricultural areas. Much continues to be done to improve water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef but it will be decades before the benefits are seen.
  
• A decline in inshore habitats will have social implications for coastal communities.

What do we know?

Relevant pages from Outlook Online include:

• The national recreational and indigenous fishing survey
  
• Limited quantitative data for Indigenous harvest of marine species
• Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements boundary maps
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owner groups with interests in the Great Barrier Reef
• Traditional use utilises a range of marine resources
• Marine and intertidal cultural heritage sites in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Healthy country: Healthy people - Indigenous natural and cultural resource management and health
• The cultural significance of dugong to Aboriginal communities along the Great Barrier Reef
• The cultural significance of the customary dugong fishery in the Torres Strait
• Spirituality associated with dugong and marine turtle in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• 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 
• Inshore net fishery by-catch
• 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
• Historical population estimates for dugongs 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 the 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

• Sustainable traditional use of marine resources
• A Reef-wide framework for managing traditional use of marine resources in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park  [368KB]
  
• Management of Traditional use 1
  
• Management of Traditional use 2
  
• Traditional use, management and contemporary relationships
• Cape York rangers  
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
  
• 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
• Queensland Fisheries Strategy 2009-2014 
• Queensland Fisheries policies and legislation
  
• Queensland Fisheries monitoring 
• Queensland management of commercial fisheries
  
• Queensland management of recreational fisheries 
• High standard tourism operations 
• Ecocertification of Marine Park operators
• Use of tourism permissions in the Marine Park
• 15 year permits 
• Visitation with the top 50 tourism operators versus total visitation
• Tourist visitation to directly managed sites
• Policies and guidelines for managing tourism and recreational use
• Site Management Arrangements   
• Responsible Reef Practices 
• Vessel sewage management
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
• Tourism, recreation and community engagement
• Communicating with tourism and recreation stakeholders
• International recognition of tourism management achievements 
• Mon Repos turtle watching 
• National codes of conduct for turtle and dugong tourism
• Improving water quality
• Coastal ecosystem protection
• Water quality guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Regional water quality improvement plans

Future management requirements

• Incorporation of fishing in Traditional Use Marine Resource Agreements
• Biodiversity strategy.

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