Management Concern: Low     Adequacy of Information: Good

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• There are more than 500 species of corals, with localised declines in some hard corals and limited information about soft corals, sea pens and sea fans.
• There have been few studies on the impacts of recreational use on the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. Localised but frequent anchor damage to corals is a likely impact, along with littering, boat strikes on marine mammals and turtles, and fin damage to corals when snorkelling and diving.

What do we know? (relevant pages from Outlook Online)

• Global distribution of coral, mangrove and seagrass diversity
  
• Soft coral (octocoral) diversity
  
• e-ATLAS: Octocorals of the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Hard coral diversity on the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Coral community changes in the Whitsundays Islands
  
• Hard coral richness in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Soft coral richness in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• e-ATLAS: Patterns in hard coral diversity and cover on inshore reefs of the GBR
  
• e-ATLAS: Hard coral biodiversity surveys of the GBR 
  
• Impacts of tourism and recreational use on the Great Barrier Reef
• Effects on coral from SCUBA divers 
• Effectiveness of no anchoring areas

Existing policies and management actions

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park legislation and regulations
  
• Plans of Management
  
• Permits
  
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
  
• Policies and guidelines for managing tourism and recreational use
• Site Management Arrangements   

Future management requirements

• Biodiversity strategy
• Great Barrier Reef Recreation 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.

Current Research and Monitoring