Program 2: Operations

(Program Leader: Professor H Marsh, JCU)

Objective

To find solutions to problems associated with increasing use of the GBR Marine Park relevant to tourist operators and recreational and commercial fishermen.

Strategy

The GBR Marine Park is a major destination for tourists and regional residents. The demands on access and use are increasing rapidly. The ecologically and socially sustainable levels of tourism, recreational use and reef fishing are examples of issues that both managers and the tourist and fishing industries continue to address while ensuring that development of the region is optimised within the global responsibilities for stewardship of the Marine Park.

The Operations Program involves tactical scientific research addressing questions to provide management agencies and user groups with fundamental operational knowledge to maximise opportunities for use of the GBR region. To gain this knowledge, social research is being conducted on aspects of the environment which are valued by users, together with ecological research on biota of interest to users, such as corals, fish and seabirds.

Cost-effective and sensitive techniques are being developed to monitor changes in ecological communities of significance to visitors and in visitor behaviour and experience. Knowledge is needed of the key elements of GBR Marine Park settings which are important to tourist and other recreational users.

• Project 2.1: Visitor Environment Interactions
  (Prof H Marsh, JCU)

• Project 2.2: Tourist Destination Image and Interpretation
  (Prof P Pearce, JCU)

• Project 2.3: Rehabilitation of Reef Sites
  (Prof JH Choat, JCU)

• Project 2.4: Effects of Line and Spear Fishing
  (Dr B Mapstone, CRC & Dr W Craik, GBRMPA)

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