Project 8.1 Factsheet: Monitoring the ecological effects of GBR zoning plan on mid and outer shelf reefs

Project 8.1 Factsheet: Monitoring the ecological effects of GBR zoning plan on mid and outer shelf reefs

The rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) in 2004 increased the number and extent of ‘no-take’ areas within the Park. This project surveys pairs of reefs, one in a ‘no-take’ or green zone and the other a similar reef where fishing is allowed (blue zone), in five regions of the GBRMP. Green and blue zones will be surveyed for the abundance and size of fishery species, particularly coral trout, as well as wider effects on coral reef communities. Indirect or flow-on effects of protection from fishing on reef ecology may take one to two decades to develop, so surveys over the course of the NERP will track the longer-term effects of zoning as they develop.

 

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