The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) recognises that fishing on the Great Barrier Reef is an important pastime and a source of income for both Queensland coastal communities and the Queensland seafood industry. Viable commercial and charter fishing industries depend on a healthy ecosystem just as Queenslanders rely on a healthy reef ecosystem for recreation and as a source of local seafood. Traditional Owners too are keen to ensure this culturally important resource remains healthy.

The GBRMPA works collaboratively with others including Fisheries Queensland, the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC), and commercial and recreational fishers to continuously improve fishing gear and methods. While fisheries management continues to improve, a small number of risks remain which are being progressively addressed.

A brochure outlining fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, along with the pressures affecting fishing and the remaining risks associated with fishing, is available and further information can be found at Ecologically Sustainable Fishing in the Great Barrier Reef.

Fishing on the Great Barrier Reef forms the basis of a commercial fishing industry, provides recreational and tourism opportunities and generates regional social and economic value. Product taken from the Great Barrier Reef is an important component of the Queensland seafood industry, with about 95 per cent of Queensland's reef line fishery, 60 per cent of the trawl fishery, 40 per cent of the net fishery and 40 per cent of recreational fishing taking place in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Although largely unquantified, Indigenous fishing occurs in the Marine Park generally in close proximity to communities along the East Coast up to the tip of Cape York. Indigenous fishing is often undertaken in conjunction with traditional hunting.

The major commercial fisheries in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park include the:

• East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery
• East Coast Coral Reef Line Fishery
• East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery
• East Coast Dive-Based Fisheries
• QSIA/GBRMPA Climate Change and Fisheries Partnership Project Bulletin

Related information

• Outlook Fisheries - status, trends, management benefits and impacts of fisheries
• Fisheries assessments under EPBC - Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
• Fisheries Queensland
• CRC Reef - Fisheries of Queensland’s East Coast (May 2005)
• Queensland Seafood Industry Association
• Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Australia’s Fishing Industry
• Fisheries Queensland Legislation