Brodie, Jon (2003) The Great Barrier Reef: 25 Years of management as a large marine ecosystem. In: Hempel, Gotthilf, and Sherman, Kenneth, (eds.) Large Marine Ecosystems of the World: trends in exploitation, protection, and research. Elsevier, The Netherlands, pp. 313-336.

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Abstract

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) system covers an area of about 350,000 sq km. on the north-eastern Australian continental shelf. It is a long, narrow system stretching 2000 km along the coast ranging from 50 km wide in the north to 200 km in the south and bounded by the coast on the west and the Coral Sea on the east (Figure 13-1). It is a relatively shallow system with maximum depths of about 50m at the shelf break limit of the ecosystems normally considered to form part of the GBR. It encompasses the largest system of coral reefs and related life forms anywhere in the world with approximately 3000 reefs. About 350 species of hard coral are found in the region along with 1500 species of fish, 240 species of seabirds and at least 4000 species of molluscs.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (hereafter 'the Marine Park') is a multiple use marine park established in 1975 by the Australian Federal Government. The overriding objective of the legislation is the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef was listed on the World Heritage Register in 1981. The outer boundaries of both the Marine Park and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area lie beyond the shelf break in the east (Figure 13-1) thus enclosing a considerable area of oceanic depth water· The western boundary of the World Heritage Area is the low water mark along the coast with the Marine Park boundary similar except for a few small excluded areas along the coast (Figure 13-1).

Item ID:	7402
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-0-444-51027-3
Keywords:	coral reefs; ecosystem; marine management
Additional Information:	This publication does not have an abstract. The first two paragraphs of the Introduction are displayed as the abstract.
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2010 05:35
FoR Codes:	05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050299 Environmental Science and Management not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960508 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Mining Environments @ 100%
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