Management Concern: Low    

Adequacy of Information: Good

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• About half of the islands are within protected areas; there is limited monitoring on the condition of most islands.
  
• There is now a range of mandatory and voluntary management arrangements that minimise the impact of commercial tourism operations in the Great Barrier Reef, such that the impacts associated with tourism activities are seen as minor.

What do we know?

Relevant pages from Outlook Online include:

• Management arrangements for Raine Island restrict access to the island and surrounding waters
• Marine and intertidal cultural heritage sites in the Great Barrier Reef
• Marine tourism impacts on the Great Barrier Reef 
• Impacts of tourism and recreational use on the Great Barrier Reef
• Tourism impacts on seabirds 
• High standard tourism operations
  

Existing policies and management actions

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
  
• GBRMPA Environmental Impact Management Policy [900KB]
  
• Cairns Area Plan of Management
  
• Hinchinbrook Plan of Management
  
• Shoalwater Bay (Dugong) Plan of Management
  
• Whitsundays Plan of Management
  
• Site specific management - Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay
  
• Managing Commonwealth Islands
  
• Managing Tourism Permissions to Operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (including Allocation, Latency & Tenure)
• Position Statement - Management of tourist flights in the vicinity of Magnetic Island [200KB]
• Position Statement on Management of Commercial Jet Ski Operations around Magnetic Island [89.6KB]

Future management requirements

• Draft Queensland Coastal Management Plan
  
• Biodiversity strategy
• Overarching Great Barrier Reef Tourism 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