Fisheries management within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is the responsibility of the Queensland Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The GBRMPA aims to ensure understanding of and compliance with the management regimes in the Great Barrier Reef Region through public information and education programs and the adoption of satellite-based vessel monitoring systems.

The agency is developing ongoing and effective communications with stakeholders associated with fisheries in the entire World Heritage Area.

These stakeholders include:

• commercial fishers
• recreational fishers
• Traditional Owners
• conservation groups
• community groups
• government agencies.

Through collaboration with fisheries management agencies and stakeholders, the GBRMPA seeks to:

• Minimise ecological impact through developing and encouraging the adoption of new technologies to reduce the ecological impact of fishing activities
• Establish a comprehensive system of protected areas that are representative of the complex range of ecological communities found in the Marine Park (Representative Areas Program)
• Ensure adequate monitoring and assessment are undertaken to determine the impacts of fishing activities and the status of harvested stocks, non-target species and the ecosystems on which they depend
• Facilitate and support research designed to map the ecological impact of fishing activities to better inform management
  
• Ensure that ecologically sustainable fishing activities are managed in a way that is sustainable for the long-term.