Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's

largest coral reef system[1][2] composed of
over 2,900 individual reefs[3] and 900
islands stretching for over 2,300
kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of
approximately 344,400 square kilometres
(133,000 sq mi).[4][5] The reef is located in
the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,
Australia. The Great Barrier Reef can be
seen from outer space and is the world's
biggest single structure made by living
organisms.[6] This reef structure is
composed of and built by billions of tiny
organisms, known as coral polyps.[7] It
supports a wide diversity of life and was
selected as a World Heritage Site in
1981.[1][2] CNN labelled it one of the seven
natural wonders of the world.[8] The
Queensland National Trust named it a
state icon of Queensland.[9]
 Great Barrier Reef

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Satellite image of part of the Great Barrier

Reef adjacent to the Queensland coastal
areas of Airlie Beach and Mackay

Location Off the east coast of

the Queensland
 mainland, Australia
Criteria Natural: vii, viii, ix, x

Reference 154

Inscription 1981 (5th session)

Area 34,870,000 ha

Website www.gbrmpa.gov.au

Coordinates 18°17′S 147°42′E

Centre of the
Great Barrier
 Reef
Show map of Queensland
Show map of Australia
Show all

A large part of the reef is protected by the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which
helps to limit the impact of human use,
such as fishing and tourism. Other
environmental pressures on the reef and
its ecosystem include runoff, climate
change accompanied by mass coral
bleaching, dumping of dredging sludge
and cyclic population outbreaks of the
crown-of-thorns starfish.[10] According to a
study published in October 2012 by the
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, the reef has lost more than half
its coral cover since 1985.[11]

The Great Barrier Reef has long been

known to and used by the Aboriginal
Australian and Torres Strait Islander
peoples, and is an important part of local
groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is
a very popular destination for tourists,
especially in the Whitsunday Islands and
Cairns regions. Tourism is an important
economic activity for the region,
generating over AUD$3 billion per year.[12]
In November 2014, Google launched
Google Underwater Street View in 3D of
the Great Barrier Reef.[13]

A March 2016 report stated that coral

bleaching was more widespread than
previously thought, seriously affecting the
northern parts of the reef as a result of
warming ocean temperatures.[14] In
October 2016, Outside published an
obituary for the reef;[15] the article was
criticized for being premature and
hindering efforts to bolster the resilience
of the reef.[16] In March 2017, the journal
Nature published a paper showing that
huge sections of an 800-kilometre (500
mi) stretch in the northern part of the reef
had died in the course of 2016 due to high
water temperatures, an event that the
authors put down to the effects of global
climate change.[17] The percentage of
baby corals being born on the Great Barrier
Reef dropped drastically in 2018 and
scientists are describing it as the early
stage of a "huge natural selection event
unfolding". Many of the mature breeding
adults died in the bleaching events of
2016–17 leading to low coral birth rates.
The types of corals that reproduced also
changed, leading to a "long-term
reorganisation of the reef ecosystem if the
trend continues."[18]

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act

1975 (section 54) demands every five
years an Outlook Report on the Reef's
health, pressures, and future. The last
report was published in 2019.[19]
Geology and geography

Aerial photography

The Great Barrier Reef is a distinct feature

of the East Australian Cordillera division. It
reaches from Torres Strait (between
Bramble Cay, its northernmost island, and
the south coast of Papua New Guinea) in
the north to the unnamed passage
between Lady Elliot Island (its
southernmost island) and Fraser Island in
the south. Lady Elliot Island is located
1,915 km (1,190 mi) southeast of Bramble
Cay as the crow flies.[20] It includes the
smaller Murray Islands.[21]

The plate tectonic theory indicates

Australia has moved northwards at a rate
of 7 cm (2.8 in) per year, starting during
the Cenozoic.[22][23]:18 Eastern Australia
experienced a period of tectonic uplift,
which moved the drainage divide in
Queensland 400 km (250 mi) inland. Also
during this time, Queensland experienced
volcanic eruptions leading to central and
shield volcanoes and basalt flows.[23]:19
Some of these became high islands.[23]:26
After the Coral Sea Basin formed, coral
reefs began to grow in the Basin, but until
about 25 million years ago, northern
Queensland was still in temperate waters
south of the tropics—too cool to support
coral growth.[23]:27 The Great Barrier Reef's
development history is complex; after
Queensland drifted into tropical waters, it
was largely influenced by reef growth and
decline as sea level changed.[23]:27–28
The Great Barrier Reef is clearly visible from aircraft
flying over it.

Reefs can increase in diameter by 1 to 3

centimetres (0.39 to 1.18 in) per year, and
grow vertically anywhere from 1 to 25 cm
(0.39 to 9.84 in) per year; however, they
grow only above a depth of 150 metres
(490 ft) due to their need for sunlight, and
cannot grow above sea level.[24] When
Queensland edged into tropical waters 24
million years ago, some coral grew,[23]:29
but a sedimentation regime quickly
developed with erosion of the Great
Dividing Range; creating river deltas, oozes
and turbidites, unsuitable conditions for
coral growth. 10 million years ago, the sea
level significantly lowered, which further
enabled sedimentation. The reef's
substrate may have needed to build up
from the sediment until its edge was too
far away for suspended sediments to
inhibit coral growth. In addition,
approximately 400,000 years ago there
was a particularly warm Interglacial period
with higher sea levels and a 4 °C (7 °F)
water temperature change.[23]:37

Heron Island, a coral cay in the southern Great Barrier

Reef

The land that formed the substrate of the

current Great Barrier Reef was a coastal
plain formed from the eroded sediments
of the Great Dividing Range with some
larger hills (most of which were
themselves remnants of older reefs[25] or,
in rare cases, volcanoes[23]:26).[23]:18 The
Reef Research Centre, a Cooperative
Research Centre, has found coral 'skeleton'
deposits that date back half a million
years.[26] The Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Authority (GBRMPA) considers the
earliest evidence of complete reef
structures to have been 600,000 years
ago.[27] According to the GBRMPA, the
current, living reef structure is believed to
have begun growing on the older platform
about 20,000 years ago.[27] The Australian
Institute of Marine Science agrees, placing
the beginning of the growth of the current
reef at the time of the Last Glacial
Maximum. At around that time, sea level
was 120 metres (390 ft) lower than it is
today.[25]

Aerial view of Arlington Reef

From 20,000 years ago until 6,000 years

ago, sea level rose steadily around the
world. As it rose, the corals could then
grow higher on the newly submerged
maritime margins of the hills of the
coastal plain. By around 13,000 years ago
the sea level was only 60 metres (200 ft)
lower than the present day, and corals
began to surround the hills of the coastal
plain, which were, by then, continental
islands. As the sea level rose further still,
most of the continental islands were
submerged. The corals could then
overgrow the submerged hills, to form the
present cays and reefs. Sea level here has
not risen significantly in the last 6,000
years.[25] The CRC Reef Research Centre
estimates the age of the present, living
reef structure at 6,000 to 8,000 years
old.[26] The shallow water reefs that can be
seen in air-photographs and satellite
images cover an area of 20,679 km2, most
(about 80%) of which[28] has grown on top
of limestone platforms that are relics of
past (Pleistocene) phases of reef
growth.[23]

The remains of an ancient barrier reef

similar to the Great Barrier Reef can be
found in The Kimberley, Western
Australia.[29]

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

has been divided into 70 bioregions,[30] of
which 30 are reef bioregions.[31][32] In the
northern part of the Great Barrier Reef,
ribbon reefs and deltaic reefs have formed;
these structures are not found in the rest
of the reef system.[26] There are no atolls
in the system,[23]: 7 and reefs attached to
the mainland are rare.[23]:18

Fringing reefs are distributed widely, but

are most common towards the southern
part of the Great Barrier Reef, attached to
high islands, for example, the Whitsunday
Islands. Lagoonal reefs are found in the
southern Great Barrier Reef, and further
north, off the coast of Princess Charlotte
Bay. Crescentic reefs are the most
common shape of reef in the middle of the
system, for example the reefs surrounding
Lizard Island. Crescentic reefs are also
found in the far north of the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park, and in the Swain Reefs
(20–22 degrees south). Planar reefs are
found in the northern and southern parts,
near Cape York Peninsula, Princess
Charlotte Bay, and Cairns. Most of the
islands on the reef are found on planar
reefs.[23]:158–160

Wonky holes can have localised impact on

the reef, providing upwellings of fresh
water, sometimes rich in nutrients
contributing to eutrophication.[33][34]

Ecology
A variety of colourful corals on Flynn Reef near Cairns

Moore Reef

The Great Barrier Reef supports an

extraordinary diversity of life, including
many vulnerable or endangered species,
some of which may be endemic to the reef
system.[35][36]
A green sea turtle on the Great Barrier Reef

Thirty species of cetaceans have been

recorded in the Great Barrier Reef,
including the dwarf minke whale, Indo-
Pacific humpback dolphin, and the
humpback whale. Large populations of
dugongs live there.[36][37][38] More than
1,500 fish species live on the reef,
including the clownfish, red bass, red-
throat emperor, and several species of
snapper and coral trout.[37] Forty-nine
species mass spawn, while eighty-four
other species spawn elsewhere in their
range.[39] Seventeen species of sea snake
live on the Great Barrier Reef in warm
waters up to 50 metres (160 ft) deep and
are more common in the southern than in
the northern section. None found in the
Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area are
endemic, nor are any endangered.[40]
Six species of sea turtles come to the reef
to breed: the green sea turtle, leatherback
sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead sea
turtle, flatback turtle, and the olive ridley.
The green sea turtles on the Great Barrier
Reef have two genetically distinct
populations, one in the northern part of the
reef and the other in the southern part.[41]
Fifteen species of seagrass in beds attract
the dugongs and turtles,[37] and provide
fish habitat.[23]:133 The most common
genera of seagrasses are Halophila and
Halodule.[42]
Saltwater crocodiles live in mangrove and
salt marshes on the coast near the reef.[43]
Nesting has not been reported, and the
salt water crocodile population in the
GBRWHA is wide-ranging but low
density.[40] Around 125 species of shark,
stingray, skates or chimaera live on the
reef.[44][45] Close to 5,000 species of
mollusc have been recorded on the reef,
including the giant clam and various
nudibranchs and cone snails.[37] Forty-nine
species of pipefish and nine species of
seahorse have been recorded.[40] At least
seven species of frog inhabit the
islands.[46]

215 species of birds (including 22 species

of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds)
visit the reef or nest or roost on the
islands,[23]:450–451 including the white-
bellied sea eagle and roseate tern.[37] Most
nesting sites are on islands in the northern
and southern regions of the Great Barrier
Reef, with 1.4 to 1.7 million birds using the
sites to breed.[47][48] The islands of the
Great Barrier Reef also support 2,195
known plant species; three of these are
endemic. The northern islands have 300–
350 plant species which tend to be woody,
whereas the southern islands have 200
which tend to be herbaceous; the
Whitsunday region is the most diverse,
supporting 1,141 species. The plants are
propagated by birds.[46]

A striped surgeonfish amongst the coral on Flynn Reef

There are at least 330 species of ascidians
on the reef system with the diameter of 1–
10 cm (0.4–4 in). Between 300–500
species of bryozoans live on the reef.[45]
Four hundred coral species, both hard
corals and soft corals inhabit the reef.[37]
The majority of these spawn gametes,
breeding in mass spawning events that are
triggered by the rising sea temperatures of
spring and summer, the lunar cycle, and
the diurnal cycle. Reefs in the inner Great
Barrier Reef spawn during the week after
the full moon in October, while the outer
reefs spawn in November and
December.[49] Its common soft corals
belong to 36 genera.[50] Five hundred
species of marine algae or seaweed live
on the reef,[37] including thirteen species of
genus Halimeda, which deposit calcareous
mounds up to 100 metres (110 yd) wide,
creating mini-ecosystems on their surface
which have been compared to rainforest
cover.[23]:185

Environmental threats
Sea temperature and bleaching of the Great Barrier
Reef

Climate change, pollution, crown-of-thorns

starfish and fishing are the primary threats
to the health of this reef system. Other
threats include shipping accidents, oil
spills, and tropical cyclones.[51] Skeletal
Eroding Band, a disease of bony corals
caused by the protozoan Halofolliculina
corallasia, affects 31 coral species.[52]
According to a 2012 study by the National
Academy of Science, since 1985, the Great
Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its
corals with two-thirds of the loss occurring
from 1998 due to the factors listed
before.[53]

Climate change

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Authority considers the greatest threat to
the Great Barrier Reef to be climate
change, causing ocean warming which
increases coral bleaching.[54][55] Mass
coral bleaching events due to marine
heatwaves occurred in the summers of
1998, 2002 and 2006,[56] and coral
bleaching is expected to become an
annual occurrence.[57] As global warming
continues, corals will not be able to keep
up with increasing ocean temperatures.
Coral bleaching events lead to increased
disease susceptibility, which causes
detrimental ecological effects for reef
communities.[58]
In July 2017 UNESCO published in a draft
decision, expressing serious concern
about the impact of coral bleaching on the
Great Barrier Reef. The draft decision also
warned Australia that it will not meet the
targets of the Reef 2050 report without
considerable work to improve water
quality.[59]

Climate change has implications for other

forms of reef life—some fish's preferred
temperature range leads them to seek new
habitat, thus increasing chick mortality in
predatory seabirds. Climate change will
also affect the population and sea turtle's
available habitat.[60]

Bleaching events in benthic coral

communities (deeper than 20 metres or 66
feet) in the Great Barrier reef are not as
well documented as those at shallower
depths, but recent research has shown
that benthic communities are just as
negatively impacted in the face of rising
ocean temperatures. Five Great Barrier
Reef species of large benthic corals were
found bleached under elevated
temperatures, affirming that benthic corals
are vulnerable to thermal stress.[61]

Pollution

Another key threat faced by the Great

Barrier Reef is pollution and declining
water quality. The rivers of north eastern
Australia pollute the Reef during tropical
flood events. Over 90% of this pollution
comes from farm runoff.[62] 80% of the
land adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef is
used for farming including intensive
cropping of sugar cane, and major beef
cattle grazing. Farming practices damage
the reef due to overgrazing, increased run-
off of agricultural sediments, nutrients and
chemicals including fertilisers, herbicides
and pesticides representing a major health
risk for the coral and biodiversity of the
reefs.[63] Sediments containing high levels
of copper and other heavy metals sourced
from the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New
Guinea are a potential pollution risk for the
far northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres
Strait regions.[64]
Some 67% of corals died in the reef's
worst-hit northern section, the ARC Centre
of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies report
said.[65]

Loss of coastal wetland

The runoff problem is exacerbated by the

loss of coastal wetlands which act as a
natural filter for toxins and help deposit
sediment.[66][67][68] It is thought that the
poor water quality is due to increased light
and oxygen competition from algae.[69]

Eutrophication
Farming fertiliser runoff release nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium into the
oceanic ecosystem, these limiting
nutrients cause massive algal growth
which leads to depletion in oxygen
available for other creatures which
decreases the biodiversity in the affected
areas, altering the species composition. A
study by Katharina Fabricius and Glen
Death of Australian Institute of Marine
Science found that hard corals numbers
were almost double on reefs that were far
from agricultural areas.[63]
Fertilizers also increase the amount of
phytoplankton available for the crown-of-
thorns starfish larvae to consume. A study
showed that a doubling of the chlorophyll
in the water leads to a tenfold increase in
the crown-of-thorns starfish larvae's
survival rate.[63]

Sediment runoff

Sediment runoff from farming carries

chemicals into the reef environment also
reduces the amount of light available to
the corals decreasing their ability to
extract energy from their environment.[63]
Pesticides

Pesticides used in farming are made up of

heavy metals such as lead, mercury,
arsenic and other toxins are released into
the wider environment due to erosion of
farm soil, which has a detrimental effect
on the coral.[63]

Pollution from mining

Mining company Queensland Nickel

discharged nitrate-laden water into the
Great Barrier Reef in 2009 and 2011 – on
the later occasion releasing 516 tonnes
(508 long tons; 569 short tons) of waste
water. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority (GBRMPA) stated "We have
strongly encouraged the company to
investigate options that do not entail
releasing the material to the environment
and to develop a management plan to
eliminate this potential hazard; however,
GBRMPA does not have legislative control
over how the Yabulu tailings dam is
managed".[70]

Crown of thorns
Crown-of-thorns starfish

The crown-of-thorns starfish preys on

coral polyps. Large outbreaks of these
starfish can devastate reefs. In 2000, an
outbreak contributed to a loss of 66% of
live coral cover on sampled reefs in a
study by the RRC (Reefs Research
Centre.)[71] Outbreaks are believed to
occur in natural cycles, worsened by poor
water quality and overfishing of the
starfish's predators.[71][72]

Overfishing

The unsustainable overfishing of keystone

species, such as the giant Triton, can
disrupt food chains vital to reef life.
Fishing also impacts the reef through
increased water pollution from boats, by-
catch of unwanted species (such as
dolphins and turtles) and habitat
destruction from trawling, anchors and
nets.[73] As of the middle of 2004,
approximately one-third of the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park is protected from
species removal of any kind, including
fishing, without written permission.[74]

The Shen Neng 1 aground on the Great Barrier Reef, 5

April 2010

Shipping
Shipping accidents are a pressing concern,
as several commercial shipping routes
pass through the Great Barrier Reef.[75]
Although the route through the Great
Barrier Reef is not easy, reef pilots
consider it safer than outside the reef in
the event of mechanical failure, since a
ship can sit safely while being repaired.[76]
There have been over 1,600 known
shipwrecks in the Great Barrier Reef
region.[77] On 3 April 2010, the bulk coal
carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground on
Douglas Shoals,[78] spilling up to four
tonnes of oil into the water and causing
extensive damage to the reef.[79]

Shark culling

The government of Queensland has a

"shark control" program (shark culling) that
deliberately kills sharks throughout
Queensland, including in the Great Barrier
Reef.[80][81] Environmentalists and
scientists say that this program harms the
marine ecosystem; they also say it is
"outdated, cruel and ineffective".[81] The
Queensland "shark control" program uses
shark nets and drum lines with baited
hooks to kill sharks in the Great Barrier
Reef – there are 173 lethal drum lines in
the Great Barrier Reef.[80][81][82] In
Queensland, sharks found alive on the
baited hooks are shot.[83] Queensland's
"shark control" program killed about
50,000 sharks from 1962 to 2018.[84] Also,
Queensland's "shark control" program has
also killed many other animals (such as
dolphins and turtles) — the program killed
84,000 marine animals from 1962 to 2015,
including in the Great Barrier Reef.[85] In
2018, Humane Society International filed a
lawsuit against the government of
Queensland to stop shark culling in the
Great Barrier Reef.[82]

Protection and preservation:

Reef 2050 plan
In March 2015, the Australian and
Queensland's governments formed a plan
for the protection and preservation of the
reef's universal heritage until 2050. This 35
years plan, titled "Reef 2050 Plan" is a
document proposing possible measures
for the long-term management of the
pollution, climate change and other issues
that threaten the life span and value of this
global heritage. The plan contains all the
elements for measurement and
improvements, including; long-term
sustainability plan, water quality
improvement plan and the investment plan
for the protection and preservation of The
Reef until 2050.[86]

However, whereas the 2050 plan aims to

incorporate protective measures such as
improving water quality, reef restoration,
killing of predatory starfish, it does not
incorporate additional measures to
address the root cause the problem
namely climate change (which is caused
by greenhouse gas emissions). As such,
experts doubt on whether it will be enough
to save the fragile environment.[59][87][88]
Another issue is that the time left to the
1.5°C warming threshold (the temperature
limit that coral reefs can still cope with[89])
is very limited.[90]

As part of the Reef 2050 plan, an

AUD$443 million grant was given to the
Great Barrier Reef Foundation in 2018. The
announcement of the grant was subject to
backlash as the grant had avoided proper
tender and transparency processes.

Human use
The Great Barrier Reef has long been
known to and used by the Aboriginal
Australian and Torres Strait Islander
peoples. Aboriginal Australians have been
living in the area for at least 40,000
years,[91] and Torres Strait Islanders since
about 10,000 years ago.[92] For these 70 or
so clan groups, the reef is also an
important cultural feature.[93]
In 1768 Louis de Bougainville found the
reef during an exploratory mission, but did
not claim the area for the French.[94] On 11
June 1770, HM Bark Endeavour, captained
by explorer James Cook, ran aground on
the Great Barrier Reef, sustaining
considerable damage. Lightening the ship
and re-floating it during an incoming tide
eventually saved it.[95] One of the most
famous wrecks was HMS Pandora, which
sank on 29 August 1791, killing 35 men.
The Queensland Museum has led
archaeological digs to wreck of Pandora
since 1983.[96] Because the reef had no
atolls, it was largely unstudied in the 19th
century.[23]:7 During this time, some of the
reef's islands were mined for deposits of
guano, and lighthouses were built as
beacons throughout the system.[23]:452 as
in Raine Island, the earliest example.[97] In
1922, the Great Barrier Reef Committee
began carrying out much of the early
research on the reef.[23]:9

Management

This section needs additional citations for

verification.
 This article possibly contains original research.

Map of The Great Barrier Reef Region, World Heritage

Area and Marine Park, 2014
Royal Commissions disallowed oil drilling
in the Great Barrier Reef, in 1975 the
Government of Australia created the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park and prohibited
various activities.[98] The Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park does not include the
entire Great Barrier Reef Province.[20] The
park is managed, in partnership with the
Government of Queensland, through the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to
ensure that it is used in a sustainable
manner. A combination of zoning,
management plans, permits, education
and incentives (such as eco-tourism
certification) are employed in the effort to
conserve the reef.[51][99]

In 1999, the Australian Parliament passed

the Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act, which
improved the operation of national
environmental law by providing guidance
about regional biodiversity conservation
priorities. The marine bioregional planning
process came from the implementation of
this law. This process conserves marine
biodiversity by considering the whole
ecosystem a species is in and how
different species interact in the marine
environment.

There are two steps to this process. The

first step is to identify regional
conservation priorities in the five
(currently) different marine regions. The
second step is to identify marine reserves
(protected areas or marine parks) to be
added to Australia's National
Representative System of Marine
Protected Areas. Like protected areas on
land, marine reserves are created to
protect biodiversity for generations to
come. Marine reserves are identified
based on criteria written in a document
created by Australian and New Zealand
Environment and Conservation Council
called "Guidelines for establishing the
national representative system of marine
protected areas", also known as just "the
Guidelines". These guidelines are
nationally recognised and implemented at
the local level based on the Australian
policy for implementation outlined in the
"Goals and Principles for the
Establishment of the National
Representative System of Marine
Protected Areas in Commonwealth
Waters". These policies are in place to
make sure that a marine reserve is only
added to the NRSMPA after careful
evaluation of different data.

The priorities for each region are created

based on human and environmental
threats and the Marine Bioregional Plans
are drafted to address these priorities. To
assess different region's priorities, three
steps are taken, first, a bioregional profile
is created, second, a bioregional plan is
drafted, and third, the plan is finalised.
After the plan is finalised, activity in
different bioregions may become limited
based on particular threats an activity may
pose.[100]

In 2001, the GBRMPA released a report

about the declining water quality in the
Great Barrier Reef and detailed the
importance of this issue. In response to
this report, in 2003, the Australian and
Queensland governments launched a joint
initiative to improve the quality of water
entering the Great Barrier Reef.[101] The
decline in the quality of water over the
past 150 years (due to development) has
contributed to coral bleaching, algal
blooms, and pesticide pollution. These
forms of pollution have made the reef less
resilient to climate change.

When the plan was introduced in October

2003, it originally contained 65 actions
built on previous legislation. Their
immediate goal was to halt and reverse
the decline in water quality entering the
reef by 2013. By 2020, they hope that the
quality of the water entering in the reef
improves enough so that it doesn't have a
detrimental impact on the health of the
Great Barrier Reef. To achieve these goals
they decided to reduce pollutants in the
water entering the reef and to rehabilitate
and conserve areas of the reef that
naturally help reduce water pollutants. To
achieve the objectives described above,
this plan focuses on non-point sources of
pollution, which cannot be traced to a
single source such as a waste outlet.

The plan specifically targets nutrients,

pesticides and sediment that make their
way into the reef as a result of agricultural
activities. Other non-point sources of
pollution that are attributed to urban areas
are covered under different legislation. In
2009, the plan was updated. The updated
version states that to date, none of the
efforts undertaken to improve the quality
of water entering the reef has been
successful. The new plan attempts to
address this issue by "targeting priority
outcomes, integrating industry and
community initiatives and incorporating
new policy and regulatory frameworks
(Reef Plan 5)". This updated version has
improved the clarity of the previous plan
and targets set by that plan, have
improved accountability and further
improved monitoring and assessment. The
2009 report found that 41 out of the 65
actions met their original goals, however,
18 were not progressing well according to
evaluation criteria as well as 6 were rated
as having unsatisfactory levels of
progress.

Some key achievements made since the

plan's initial passing in 2003 were the
establishment of the Reef Quality
Partnership to set targets, report findings
and monitor progress towards targets,
improved land condition by landowners
was rewarded with extended leases, Water
Quality Improvement Plans were created
to identify regional targets and identified
management changes that needed to be
made to reach those targets, Nutrient
Management Zones have been created to
combat sediment loss in particular areas,
education programs have been started to
help gather support for sustainable
agriculture, changes to land management
practices have taken place through the
implementation of the Farm Management
Systems and codes of practice, the
creation of the Queensland Wetland
program and other achievements were
made to help improve the water quality
flowing into the coral reefs.

A taskforce of scientists was also created

to assess the impact of different parts of
the plan on the quality of water flowing
into the coral reefs. They found that many
of the goals have yet to be reached but
found more evidence that states that
improving the water quality of the Great
Barrier Reef will improve its resilience to
climate change. The Reefocus summit in
2008, which is also detailed in the report,
came to similar conclusions. After this, a
stakeholder working group was formed
that worked between several groups as
well as the Australian and Queensland
governments to update reef goals and
objectives. The updated version of the
plan focuses on strategic priority areas
and actions to achieve 2013 goals. Also
quantitative targets have been made to
critically assess whether targets are being
met.
Some examples of the water quality goals
outlined by this plan are that by 2013,
there will be a 50% reduction in nitrogen
and phosphorus loads at the end of
catchments and that by 2020, there will be
a reduction in sediment load by 20%. The
plan also outlines a number of steps that
must be taken by landholders to help
improve grazing, soil, nutrient, and
chemical management practices. There
are also a number of supporting initiatives
to take place outlined in the plan to help
create a framework to improve land use
practices which will in turn improve water
quality.

Through these means the governments of

Australia and Queensland hope to improve
water quality by 2013. The 2013 outlook
report and revised water quality plan will
assess what needs to be done in the
future to improve water quality and the
livelihoods of the wildlife that resides
there.[102]
A blue starfish (Linckia laevigata) resting on hard
Acropora and Porites corals

In July 2004, a new zoning plan took effect

for the entire Marine Park, and has been
widely acclaimed as a new global
benchmark for marine ecosystem
conservation.[103] The rezoning was based
on the application of systematic
conservation planning techniques, using
marxan software.[104] While protection
across the Marine Park was improved, the
highly protected zones increased from
4.5% to over 33.3%.[105] At the time, it was
the largest Marine Protected Area in the
world, although in 2006, the new
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National
Monument became the largest.[106]

In 2006, a review of the Great Barrier Reef

Marine Park Act of 1975 recommended
are that there should be no further zoning
plan changes until 2013, and that every
five years, a peer-reviewed outlook report
should be published, examining the reef's
health, management, and environmental
pressures.[5][107] In each outlook report,
several assessments are required. Each
assessment has a set of assessment
criteria that allows for better presentation
of available evidence. Each assessment is
judged by these criteria and given a grade.
Every outlook report follows the same
judging and grading process so that
information can be tracked over time. No
new research is done to produce the
report. Only readily available information
goes into the report so little of what is
known about the Reef is actually featured
in each outlook report.[108]

Abbot Point coal port dredge dumping

controversy

In December 2013, Greg Hunt, the

Australian environment minister, approved
a plan for dredging to create three
shipping terminals as part of the
construction of a coalport. According to
corresponding approval documents, the
process will create around 3 million cubic
metres of dredged seabed that will be
dumped within the Great Barrier Reef
marine park area.[109]

On 31 January 2014, the GBRMPA issued a

dumping permit that will allow three
million cubic metres of sea bed from
Abbot Point, north of Bowen, to be
transported and unloaded in the waters of
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Potential significant harms have been
identified in relation to dredge spoil and
the process of churning up the sea floor in
the area and exposing it to air: firstly, new
research shows the finer particles of
dredge spoil can cloud the water and block
sunlight, thereby starving sea grass and
coral up to distances of 80 km away from
the point of origin due to the actions of
wind and currents. Furthermore, dredge
spoil can literally smother reef or sea
grass to death, while storms can
repeatedly resuspend these particles so
that the harm caused is ongoing; secondly,
disturbed sea floor can release toxic
substances into the surrounding
environment.[110]
The dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port
project is to be dumped 24 kilometres
(15 mi) away, near Bowen in north
Queensland, and the approval from the
Authority will result in the production of an
extra 70 million tonnes of coal annually,
worth between A$1.4 billion and
$2.8 billion.[110] Authority chairman, Dr
Russell Reichelt, stated after the
confirmation of the approval:

This approval is in line with the

agency's view that port
development along the Great
Barrier Reef coastline should be
limited to existing ports. As a
deepwater port that has been in
operation for nearly 30 years,
Abbot Point is better placed than
other ports along the Great
Barrier Reef coastline to
undertake expansion as the
capital and maintenance
dredging required will be
significantly less than what
would be required in other
areas. It's important to note the
 seafloor of the approved
disposal area consists of sand,
silt and clay and does not
contain coral reefs or seagrass
beds.[110]

The approval was provided with a

corresponding set of 47 new
environmental conditions that include the
following:

A long-term water quality monitoring

plan extending five years after the
disposal activity is completed.
 A heritage management plan to protect
the Catalina second world war aircraft
wreck in Abbot Bay.
The establishment of an independent
dredging and disposal technical advice
panel and a management response
group, to include community
representatives.[110][111]

The Australian Federal Government

announced on 13 November that there
would now be a ban on the dumping of
dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park. The World Heritage
Committee asked Environment Minister
Greg Hunt to investigate alternative
options to dump on land instead. The
Queensland government and the
Commonwealth have now accepted the
alternative option and advice from The
World Heritage Committee and will now
commence dumping on land. [112]

Tourism
A scuba diver looking at a giant clam on the Great
Barrier Reef

Helicopter view of the reef and boats

Due to its vast biodiversity, warm clear
waters and accessibility from the tourist
boats called "live aboards", the reef is a
very popular destination, especially for
scuba divers. Tourism on the Great Barrier
Reef is concentrated in Cairns and also
The Whitsundays due to their accessibility.
These areas make up 7%–8% of the park's
area.[51] The Whitsundays and Cairns have
their own Plans of Management.[113] Many
cities along the Queensland coast offer
daily boat trips. Several continental and
coral cay islands are now resorts,
including Green Island and Lady Elliot
Island. As of 1996, 27 islands on the Great
Barrier Reef supported resorts.[51]

In 1996, most of the tourism in the region

was domestically generated and the most
popular visiting times were during the
Australian winter. At this time, it was
estimated that tourists to the Great Barrier
Reef contributed A$776 million per
annum.[114] As the largest commercial
activity in the region, it was estimated in
2003 that tourism generated over
A$4 billion annually,[115] and the 2005
estimate increased to A$5.1 billion.[113] A
Deloitte report published by the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in
March 2013 states that the Reef's 2,000
kilometres of coastline attracts tourism
worth A$6.4 billion annually and employs
more than 64,000 people.[116]

Approximately two million people visit the

Great Barrier Reef each year.[117] Although
most of these visits are managed in
partnership with the marine Tourism
industry, there is a concern among the
general public that tourism is harmful to
the Great Barrier Reef.[51]
A variety of boat tours and cruises are
offered, from single day trips, to longer
voyages. Boat sizes range from dinghies
to superyachts.[118] Glass-bottomed boats
and underwater observatories are also
popular, as are helicopter flights.[119][120]
By far, the most popular tourist activities
on the Great Barrier Reef are snorkelling
and diving, for which pontoons are often
used, and the area is often enclosed by
nets. The outer part of the Great Barrier
Reef is favoured for such activities, due to
water quality.
Management of tourism in the Great
Barrier Reef is geared towards making
tourism ecologically sustainable. A daily
fee is levied that goes towards research of
the Great Barrier Reef.[113] This fee ends
up being 20% of the GBRMPA's
income.[121] Policies on cruise ships,
bareboat charters, and anchorages limit
the traffic on the Great Barrier Reef.[113]

The problems that surround ecotourism in

the Great Barrier Reef revolve around
permanent tourism platforms. Platforms
are large, ship-like vessels that act as a
base for tourists while scuba diving and
snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef.
Seabirds will land on the platforms and
defecate which will eventually be washed
into the sea. The feces carry nitrogen,
phosphorus and often DDT and mercury,
which cause aspergillosis, yellow-band
disease, and black band disease. Areas
without tourism platforms have 14 out of
9,468 (1.1%) diseased corals versus areas
with tourism platforms that have 172 out
of 7,043 (12%) diseased corals.[122]
Tourism is a major economic activity for
the region. Thus, while non-permanent
platforms could be possible in some
areas, overall, permanent platforms are
likely a necessity. Solutions have been
suggested to siphon bird waste into
gutters connecting to tanks helping lower
runoff that causes coral disease.[123]

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Authority has also placed many permanent
anchorage points around the general use
areas. These act to reduce damage to the
reef due to anchoring destroying soft
coral, chipping hard coral, and disturbing
sediment as it is dragged across the
bottom. Tourism operators also must
comply with speed limits when travelling
to or from tourist destinations, to prevent
excessive wake from the boats disturbing
the reef ecosystem.

Fishing

The fishing industry in the Great Barrier

Reef, controlled by the Queensland
Government, is worth A$1 billion
annually.[12] It employs approximately
2000 people, and fishing in the Great
Barrier Reef is pursued commercially, for
recreation, and as a traditional means for
feeding one's family.[93]

Dugong hunting

Under the Native Title Act 1993, native title

holders retain the right to legally hunt
dugongs and green turtles for "personal,
domestic or non-commercial communal
needs".[124]

Four traditional owners groups agreed to

cease the hunting of dugongs in the area
in 2011 due to their declining numbers,
partially accelerated by seagrass damage
from Cyclone Yasi.[125]

See also
Catlin Seaview Survey
Coral Triangle
Galápagos Islands
Islands on the Great Barrier Reef
Komodo National Park
List of reefs
Ocean acidification in the Great Barrier
Reef
 Sixth extinction
Valdes Peninsula

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Further reading
Bell, Peter (1998). AIMS: The First
Twenty-five Years. Townsville: Australian
Institute of Marine Science. ISBN 978-0-
642-32212-8.
Bowen, James; Bowen, Margarita
(2002). The Great Barrier Reef : history,
science, heritage . Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-
521-82430-3.
Done, T.J. (1982). "Patterns in the
distribution of coral communities across
the central Great Barrier Reef". Coral
Reefs. 1 (2): 95–107.
Bibcode:1982CorRe...1...95D .
doi:10.1007/BF00301691 .
S2CID 38013851 .
"Research Publications" . Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Authority. Archived
from the original on 18 July 2011.
Hutchings, Pat; Kingsford, Mike; Hoegh-
Guldberg, Ove (2008). The Great Barrier
Reef: Biology, Environment and
Management. CSIRO Publishing.
ISBN 978-0-643-09557-1.
Lucas, P.H.C.; et al. (1997). The
outstanding universal value of the Great
Barrier Reef World Heritage Area . Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
ISBN 0-642-23028-5.
Mather, P.; Bennett, I., eds. (1993). A
Coral Reef Handbook: A Guide to the
Geology, Flora and Fauna of the Great
Barrier Reef (3rd ed.). Chipping North:
 Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Ltd. ISBN 0-
949324-47-7.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Great Barrier Reef.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for

Great Barrier Reef.

"How the Great Barrier Reef Works" .

howstuffworks.com.
World heritage listing for Great Barrier
Reef
 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority
CRC Reef Research Centre
"Dive into the Great Barrier Reef" .
National Geographic.
Battle for the Reef – Four Corners –
ABC.au
Great Barrier Reef scientists confirm
largest die-off of corals recorded . The
Guardian. 28 November 2016.

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