Program 2: Operations

PROJECT 2.1: VISITOR-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS

(Prof H Marsh, JCU)

The recreational use of the GBR occurs in various biophysical, social and managerial settings ranging from visits by private boats to isolated sites through to pontoon destinations serviced by catamarans carrying 500 people. In the Cairns region, most sites suitable for large-scale tourism are already occupied and the potential for expansion to new sites is limited. Understanding the ecological and experiential consequences of different intensities of use is required to deal with increased visitor demand.

To date, data collection has tended to concentrate on the biophysical resources of the GBR. There is surprisingly little information available on the patterns of human use. The potential of the Environmental Management Charge log sheets to provide information on the patterns of visitor use has been evaluated by examining the data from the first 12 months of the scheme. This has demonstrated considerable potential for Reef-related use data and with some modification the prospects for extending the quality of information is good. Trials of an automated time-lapse video camera to determine its cost-effectiveness in monitoring the activities of visitors and vessels at remote Reef sites indicate that the method has considerable potential to provide information relevant to Reef managers.

Large sets of data collected by JCU, AIMS, GBRMPA and QDEH from reef and island sites in the Cairns region are being integrated into a Geographic Information System as part of the development of a Decision Support System to help resolve user conflicts in this rapidly developing region. A questionnaire will be conducted to collect supplementary information on user conflicts, congestion, displacement, participation in various activities and the perceived quality of reef sites.

Establishing a basis for determining socially and ecologically acceptable levels of use is the major challenge for this project, which is scheduled to run until 2000. With the assistance of four operators at five reef sites, snorkelling, an activity enjoyed by a high proportion of visitors to the GBR, is being studied to develop the required methods which will then be extended to other major Reef activities. Logbooks are being used to collect data on the temporal distribution of snorkelling activity while questionnaires are used to obtain information on the experiences of snorkellers. In addition, the behaviour of more than 200 certified scuba divers has been studied to determine the nature and ecological significance of the damage they may cause at varying intensities of use. Most divers cause very little detectable damage.

After extensive consultation with stakeholders, especially in the Whitsunday area, a PhD research program was initiated in 1995 to study the impact of anchor damage on corals and to develop a model to help managers assess site vulnerability and acceptable levels of use for anchorages.

Visitors enjoy watching the activities of the large and spectacular carnivorous fish which aggregate at reef pontoons. Experimental investigation on the nature of these aggregations indicate that most of the species found in aggregations naturally aggregate at particular sites on reefs. The effect of providing food at pontoons is to relocate this activity. There was no evidence that these aggregations deplete populations on the surrounding reef.

Some visitors are unable to enter the water to observe corals. Experiments conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of artificial viewing platforms stocked with transplanted fragments of coral indicate that platforms can be established successfully, with approximately 80% of fragments of Acropora formosa spawning in their first year.

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