Our world wonder
REMARKABLE NATURAL GIFT
The Great Barrier Reef makes up about 10 per cent of the world’s coral reef ecosystems, and is one of the best known and most complex natural systems on Earth.
Beyond the surface
NATURAL LIVING TREASURES
The Reef includes some 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands.
Sea from space
CORAL REEF ON A GRAND SCALE
Covering 344,400 square kilometres, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is roughly the same area as Japan, Malaysia or Italy.
MAKING WAVES
Swipe across to meet our hands-on heroes
MAKING WAVES
Swipe across to meet our hands-on heroes
LENDING A HAND
Meet some of our people and partners working together to protect the Great Barrier Reef for future generations.
Sea Country connections
TRADITIONAL USE OF MARINE RESOURCES AGREEMENTS
Since time immemorial, Traditional Owners have interwoven their culture and spirituality with the Great Barrier Reef. Today, more than 43 per cent of the Marine Park coastline is managed under Traditional Use agreements. From Lama Lama to Woppaburra, explore how these Agreements are shaping the future of the Reef.
A thorny issue on the Reef
JOHN BREWER REEF MANAGEMENT
John Brewer Reef, located 70 kilometres offshore from Townsville, is an important reef for recreational fishing and diving. Divers have culled more than 20,000 starfish to minimise their impact on corals. Recent research has shown the crown-of-thorns starfish control program to be effective in reducing starfish numbers and improving hard coral cover at sites where culling is regularly carried out.
Tapping into Reef tourism
TOURISM REEF PROTECTION INITIATIVE
Tourism operators play a key role in how we protect and manage the Great Barrier Reef. Their high frequency visitation to the Reef positions them to provide regular pulse checks of the health of the Reef and witness changes when they happen.
Zoning in on Lady Elliot Island
THE A-Z OF MARINE PARK ZONING
Although it doesn’t look like it today, Lady Elliot Island was once stripped bare due to mining. It is now a sanctuary of marine life, with a thriving population of manta-rays. The success of Lady Elliott is in part due to the implementation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, which defines the activities that can occur in which location.
FIRST NATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Reef Authority acknowledges the expertise, wisdom, and enduring connections that have informed the guardianship of the Reef for millennia. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners as the first managers of this Land and Sea Country, and value their traditional knowledge which continues to inform the current management and stewardship of the Reef for future generations.