Management Concern: Low 

Adequacy of Information: Moderate

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Changes in seagrass communities appear to be mainly due to natural cycles of decline and recovery although influenced by run-off from catchments.
• Approximately 6000km² of seagrass meadows occur along the Queensland coast, both in shallow inshore areas and deeper water. An unknown, but larger area probably occurs in the deeper, offshore water of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
  
• Seagrass habitat has been lost through land reclamation. Seagrass meadows are sensitive to sediments from flood events. They are also sensitive to nutrient inputs.
• Most routine shipping activities have negligible consequences. Dredging and construction of port facilities can have significant, but localised impacts.

What do we know?

Relevant pages from Outlook Online include:

• Trends in seagrass distribution in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Global distribution of coral, mangrove and seagrass diversity
  
• Diversity and distribution of shallow seagrass beds in the Great Barrier Reef
• Trends in seagrass distribution in the Great Barrier Reef
  
• Distribution of deep water seagrasses in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Resilience of seagrass beds
  
• Shipping voyages in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Shipping incidents in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Major shipping incidents in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Great Barrier Reef oil spill risk and equipment 
• The 2006 Gladstone oil spill: environmental impacts 
• Dredging at the Port of Hay Point

Existing policies and management actions

• Water Quality Guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Regional water quality improvement plans
  
• State Coastal Management Plan 2002
  
• Coastal Ecosystem Management Position Paper
• Seagrass Watch
  
• Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program
  
• Improving water quality
• Coastal ecosystem protection
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
• Environmental Impact Assessment
  
• Plans of Management
• Memorandum of Understanding between GBRMPA and Queensland Ports [1.34MB]
  
• Cruise Shipping Policy for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park [113KB]
  
• Dredging and Spoil Disposal Policy [525KB]
  
• Environmental Impact Management Policy [900KB]

Future management requirements

• Draft Queensland Coastal Management Plan
  
• Biodiversity strategy
• Planned review of the Dredging and Spoil Disposal Policy

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