REEF FACTS:
People on the Reef |
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Commercial fishing is the fifth
largest primary industry by value in Queensland, with a value of
about $360 million each year.
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Recreational fishing is
also a big part of life on the Great Barrier Reef - more than 800,000
Queenslanders identify themselves as recreational fishers, and the
pastime generates around $240 million a year to the State's economy.
More information about the fisheries
of Queensland's east coast.
CRC Reef's research on fishing and fisheries |
Line fishing.
Photo by CRC Reef |
| About
6000 ships travel through the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage
Area every year.
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Nine major export ports and a number of shipping channels
are located in or adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage
Area.
There are about 30 shipwrecks in Great Barrier Reef waters.
CRC Reef research for ecologically
sustainable ports and shipping |
Ships in port.
Photo: John Barnett |
| About
1.6 million tourists visit the Great Barrier Reef each year.
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The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA)
supports more than 700 tourism operators.
Reef-based tourism is estimated to be worth about $1 billion a
year.
CRC Reef research
for ecologically sustainable tourism |
Tourist pontoon.
Photo: FantaSea |
| More
than 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clan groups along
the Queensland coast express Native Title rights and interests in
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people have lived
on the Queensland coast and islands for many thousands of years.
Clan areas often include both land and sea.
CRC Reef research
on Traditional management of resources |
| Painting by Janet Gibuma |
| 26
rivers that drain from about a quarter of the land area of Queensland
run directly into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, the large area
of water that lies inshore of the Barrier Reef. |
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Most of the land in the Great Barrier Reef catchment
area is agricultural land. There are also seven cities along the coast,
as well as fast-growing coastal development. Human activities in
these areas lead to run-off of sediments and pollution into the
Great Barrier reef lagoon.
On average, 380 cubic km of rain falls on the Great Barrier Reef
catchment each year. Of this rainfall, about 70 cubic km of water
eventually leaves the catchment in rivers and streams. Most run-off
occurs in the summer wet season.
CRC Reef research on land run-off
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Coastal run-off.
Photo: AIMS |
