Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Representative Areas Program

CRC Reef scientists played a vital role in the largest marine planning process ever undertaken: the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is one of the world's largest marine protected areas. It comprises the largest coral reef ecosystem that has ever existed. It is home to approximately 500 species of seaweed, 4,000 species of molluscs, 400 species of coral, 1,500 species of fish, 20 species of sea snakes and over 200 species of birds, as well as some of the largest populations of dugongs in the world.

Unlike many marine parks around the world where extractive activities such as fishing and collecting are not allowed, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is a multiple-use area. It allows and manages reasonable commercial and recreational uses and, at the same time, protects and conserves biodiversity.

The Commonwealth Government, through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, is rezoning the Marine Park to increase the area of marine sanctuaries (or no-take zones) where extractive uses are not allowed. The area of no-take zones is to rise from less than 5%, to more than 33% of the Park. This will ensure that areas of critical habitat and high biodiversity on Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef are protected for the future.

The rezoning is the largest and most comprehensive marine planning process ever undertaken. It would not have been possible without the advice and expertise of CRC Reef researchers. Scientists from CRC Reef provided crucial advice to managers about the biological, physical and oceanographic features of the region. CRC Reef researchers then helped to analyse this vast and diverse information to determine the optimum configuration of no-take zones in the Park.

Representing habitat diversity

Although many significant reefs were included in no-take zones before the rezoning, there was growing concern that protecting less than 5% of the Park (16% of the reefs) in these zones was not enough. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is an inter-connected ecosystem, containing not only coral reefs but seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky reefs, sandflats, open ocean and deep sea floor. It is vital to protect the biodiversity of these less-known or less-spectacular habitats to maintain the health and sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority consulted with more than 70 of Australia's top scientists, who pooled their vast expertise about the physical and biological diversity in the Park . Most of these scientists were from CRC Reef. They provided extensive advice about biological communities such as seagrass, corals, fish, dugongs, as well as the physical environment including hydrodynamics and geology. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was classified into 70 broad-scale habitats called ‘bioregions'. Each bioregion contains plant and animal communities, and physical features, which are significantly different from the surrounding areas and the rest of the Marine Park.

This enormous amount of diverse information was then compiled and analysed using a variety of software, some of which was developed by CRC Reef researchers. The software enabled managers from the Marine Park Authority to create maps of the optimum configuration of no-take zones. This step was crucial to the planning process. A comprehensive network of no-take zones was developed to include adequate protection of areas from all 70 bioregions that were identified in the Park.

Knowledge partnerships

Two phases of community consultation ensured that areas that are important for recreational and commercial use were considered when developing the new zoning plan. The final zoning map, including the new no-take zones, was tabled in the Australian Parliament in December 2003. The plan is likely to come into effect in mid 2004.

Through its members, CRC Reef coordinates the efforts of hundreds of researchers to provide science to protect, conserve and restore coral reefs and maintain sustainable use. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is a member of CRC Reef and is able to easily draw on the scientific expertise from other members including the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and James Cook University. Sharing knowledge between these agencies, and the community, was key to the success of the rezoning of the Marine Park. This process is now considered a model for developing Marine Protected Areas networks internationally.

GBRMPA Representative Areas Program page