N.Harvey
An important reason for the success of the legislation is the single overriding
goal of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority which is, "To provide for the protection, wise use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef in perpetuity through the development and care of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park"
(Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 1991). This goal, contains elements of
the current national sustainable development objectives, it allows for both protection and enjoyment of the Reef and makes reference to the need for education in doing this.
It should be noted that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park legislation was produced
exactly twenty years before the Commonwealth developed its own coastal policy in 1995.
In the case of the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland state coastal legislation is important since all the islands above low water mark except for a few owned by the Commonwealth fall under state rather than Commonwealth jurisdiction. This necessitated
the development of a cooperative working relationship between the Commonwealth
and state governments. A compromise was reached where the Commonwealth maintainsits over-riding power in the region but Queensland is involved in all aspects of
the establishment and management of the marine park. Queensland also carries out
the day to day management through the state National Parks and Wildlife Service which
is also responsible for most of the islands in the reef region. A major problem is the
level of staffing and a relatively low budget for the given area of jurisdiction. For this
reason the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has focused its attention on education rather than law enforcement.
Given the biophysical diversity of the Reef, the multiplicity of resource uses adds to
its complexity for management purposes. The major activities are tourism and fishing and the only activities which are prohibited are commercial mining and oil drilling. Tourism is by far the fastest growing activity and is expanding at an estimated 10%
per year. In addition to this expansion there has also been a rapid change from the
smaller capacity, slow vessels to rapid transit high capacity and high technology vessels moving hundreds of tourists out to the Reef for a complete tourist experience (including underwater diving) often within a single day. The other major reef user is the
fishing industry which includes both commercial and recreational fishing. Commercial fishing is mainly for prawns, scallops and line fish such as coral trout and red
emperor.
The problem confronting day to day management of the Reef is the competing uses
of th-e area. In addition to tourism and fishing, there are other users or interest groups
such as conservationists, scientists, traditional Aboriginal users, or even shell collectors. Some of the options for managing these are:
• Periodic closure - short term closure for breeding or stock recovery (such as temporary closure of prawn areas);
• Yield constraints - sustainable harvest yields by restrictions on the number of individuals or numbers taken (such as banning the taking of female mud crabs), restrictions on the capacity of boats and commercial fishing licences;
• Equipment constraints - protection against explosives, poisons, certain types of anchors, hooks per line, restrictions on spear and scuba fishing;
• Impact limitations - restrictions on reef-walkers, number of divers, numbers of
campers on reef islands.
An important reason for the success of the legislation is the single overriding
goal of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority which is, "To provide for the protection, wise use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef in perpetuity through the development and care of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park"
(Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 1991). This goal, contains elements of
the current national sustainable development objectives, it allows for both protection and enjoyment of the Reef and makes reference to the need for education in doing this.
It should be noted that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park legislation was produced
exactly twenty years before the Commonwealth developed its own coastal policy in 1995.
In the case of the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland state coastal legislation is important since all the islands above low water mark except for a few owned by the Commonwealth fall under state rather than Commonwealth jurisdiction. This necessitated
the development of a cooperative working relationship between the Commonwealth
and state governments. A compromise was reached where the Commonwealth maintainsits over-riding power in the region but Queensland is involved in all aspects of
the establishment and management of the marine park. Queensland also carries out
the day to day management through the state National Parks and Wildlife Service which
is also responsible for most of the islands in the reef region. A major problem is the
level of staffing and a relatively low budget for the given area of jurisdiction. For this
reason the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has focused its attention on education rather than law enforcement.
Given the biophysical diversity of the Reef, the multiplicity of resource uses adds to
its complexity for management purposes. The major activities are tourism and fishing and the only activities which are prohibited are commercial mining and oil drilling. Tourism is by far the fastest growing activity and is expanding at an estimated 10%
per year. In addition to this expansion there has also been a rapid change from the
smaller capacity, slow vessels to rapid transit high capacity and high technology vessels moving hundreds of tourists out to the Reef for a complete tourist experience (including underwater diving) often within a single day. The other major reef user is the
fishing industry which includes both commercial and recreational fishing. Commercial fishing is mainly for prawns, scallops and line fish such as coral trout and red
emperor.
The problem confronting day to day management of the Reef is the competing uses
of th-e area. In addition to tourism and fishing, there are other users or interest groups
such as conservationists, scientists, traditional Aboriginal users, or even shell collectors. Some of the options for managing these are:
• Periodic closure - short term closure for breeding or stock recovery (such as temporary closure of prawn areas);
• Yield constraints - sustainable harvest yields by restrictions on the number of individuals or numbers taken (such as banning the taking of female mud crabs), restrictions on the capacity of boats and commercial fishing licences;
• Equipment constraints - protection against explosives, poisons, certain types of anchors, hooks per line, restrictions on spear and scuba fishing;
• Impact limitations - restrictions on reef-walkers, number of divers, numbers of
campers on reef islands.