Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Barrier Reef Marine Park | |
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| IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 345,400 km² |
| Managing authorities: | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Queensland Fisheries |
| Official site: | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park |
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from activities that would damage it. Fishing and the removal of artifacts or wildlife (fish, coral, sea shells etc) is strictly regulated, and commercial shipping traffic must stick to certain specific defined shipping routes that avoid the most sensitive areas of the park.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) are the administrators of the park. They issue licences for use of the restricted areas of the park, inspect these areas for illegal use and maintain public moorings etc. GBRMPA is financed partly by a tax levied on the permit-holders passengers. Currently this is AUD$4.50 per day per passenger (to a maximum of $13.50 per trip). [citation needed]
In 1975, the Government of Australia enacted the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, which created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and defined what acts were prohibited on the Reef. The Australian Government also has recognised the ecological significance of this Park by its inclusion in the nation's Biodiversity Action Plan. [1]The Government of Australia manages the reef through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and in partnership with the Government of Queensland, to ensure that it is widely understood and used in a sustainable manner. A combination of zoning, management plans, permits, education and incentives (such as eco-tourism certification) are used in the effort to conserve the Great Barrier Reef.
As many species of the Great Barrier Reef are migratory, many international, national, and interstate conventions or pieces of legislation must be taken into account when strategies for conservation are made.[2]
Some international conventions that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park must follow are: the Bonn Convention, RAMSAR (for the Bowling Green Bay National Park site), CITES, JAMBA and CAMBA. Some national legislation that the Park must follow are: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity, Australia’s Oceans Policy, National Strategy for the Conservation of Australian Species and Communities Threatened with Extinction. Some state legislation that the Park must follow are: Nature Conservation Act 1992, Marine Parks Act 1982, Fisheries Act 1994, Queensland Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 1994.
For example, the Queensland Government has enacted several plans attempting to regulate fishing. The East Coast Trawl Management Plan 1999 aimed to regulate trawling through limiting the times when trawling is permitted and restricting gear used. [3] The Fisheries (Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery) Management Plan 2003 aimed at reducing the annual commercial catch to 1996 levels, disallowing fishing when the fish are spawning and increasing the minimum legal size of fish. [4]
The Great Barrier Reef was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. [5] On July 1, 2004 the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park became the largest protected sea area in the world when the Australian Government increased the areas protected from extractive activities (such as fishing) from 4.6% to 33.3% of the park. [6] As of 2006, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument is the largest protected marine area in the world. The management committee draws inspiration from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's management strategies.
In 2006, a review was undertaken of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975. Some recomendations of the review 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 health of the Great Barrier Reef, the management of the Reef, and environmental pressures. [7]
[edit] References
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia (1996). National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity. Retrieved on 2006-08-30.
- ^ Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Fauna and Flora of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
- ^ The State of Queensland (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries) (2004). Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery Annual Status Report [online PDF]. Available: http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/extra/pdf/fishweb/eastcoastrawlsummary.pdf [Access date: 9 June 2006]
- ^ The State of Queensland (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries) (unknown date). Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery Management Plan - A summary [online]. Available: http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/11379.html [Access date: 28 May 2006]
- ^ UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1980). World Heritage Sites - Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area [online]. Available: http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/gbrmp.html [Access date: 10 June 2006]
- ^ Environment News Service - International Daily Newswire (2004). Fish Boats Barred From One-Third of Great Barrier Reef [online]. Available: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2004/2004-07-01-06.asp [Access date: 28 May 2006]
- ^ Department of the Environment and Heritage. Review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
