Management Concern: Low    

Adequacy of Information: Moderate

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Soft seabed habitats support more than 5000 species but are not well understood.
  
• 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:

• Australian Institute of Marine Science - surveys of sessile benthic communities
  
• Shipping voyages in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
  
• Dredging at the Port of Hay Point
  

Existing policies and management actions

• Marine Park legislation and regulations
  
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 – Ecological assessments
  
• Environmental impact assessment
  
• Regional Plans of Management, including Reef Protection Markers and moorings
  
• Permit conditions for specific activities
  
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 
• 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

• 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