Managing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and World Heritage Area, is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), an Australian Government statutory authority. The Marine Park covers over 340,000 sq km, including 2,900 reefs and a number of Commonwealth islands.

Various state and federal government agencies are contracted and relied on by GBRMPA to assist with the day-to-day management of the Marine Park, eg. Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Queensland Department of Transport, and the Queensland Environment Protection Agency (Queensland Parks & Wildlife Services) with which GBRMPA works closely.

Recognising potential threats to the Great Barrier Reef, in 1998 GBRMPA created four Critical Issues Groups within its organisation: Fisheries, Water Quality, Tourism & Recreation, and Conservation, Biodiversity & World Heritage. Each group has been charged with building and improving stakeholder partnerships and developing strategies to manage any perceived or real threat to the Great Barrier Reef.

Monitoring coral reef ecosystem health

The Representative Areas Program

For more information go to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

For information on CRC Reef research related to natural resource management, go to Research for industry and management.