The
Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and
pulling away from it, and viewing it from a greater distance, you can
understand why. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living
thing on earth visible from space.
Where
Is The Great Barrier Reef?
The marine park stretches over
3000km (1800 miles) almost parallel to the Queensland coast, from near the
southern coastal town of Bundaberg, up past the northern tip of Cape York.
The reef, between 15 kilometers
and 150 kilometers off shore and around 65 Km wide in some parts, is a
gathering of brilliant, vivid coral providing divers with the most spectacular
underwater experience imaginable.
A closer encounter with the Great
Barrier Reef’s impressive coral gardens reveals many astounding underwater
attractions including the world’s largest collection of corals (in fact, more
than 400 different kinds of coral), coral sponges, mollusks, rays, dolphins,
over 1500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, around 20
types of reptiles including sea turtles and giant clams over 120 years old.
Tourism
A scuba diver looking at a giant
clam on the Great Barrier Reef
Helicopter
view of the reef and boats
Due to its vast biodiversity,
warm clear waters and accessibility from the tourist boats called "live aboard",
the reef is a very popular destination, especially for scuba divers. Tourism on
the Great Barrier Reef is concentrated in Cairns and also The Whitsundays due
to their accessibility. These areas make up 7%–8% of the Park's area. The
Whitsundays and Cairns have their own Plans of Management. Many cities along
the Queensland coast offer daily boat trips. Several continental and coral cay
islands are now resorts, including Green Island and Lady Elliot Island. As of
1996, 27 islands on the Great Barrier Reef supported resorts.
In 1996, most of the tourism in
the region was domestically generated and the most popular visiting times were
during the Australian winter. At this time, it was estimated that tourists to
the Great Barrier Reef contributed a$776 million per annum. As the largest
commercial activity in the region, it was estimated in 2003 that tourism
generated over A$4 billion annually, and the 2005 estimate increased to A$5.1
billion. A Deloitte report published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority in March 2013 states that the Reef's 2,000 kilometers of coastline
attracts tourism worth A$6.4 billion annually and employs more than 64,000
people.
Approximately two million people
visit the Great Barrier Reef each year. Although most of these visits are
managed in partnership with the marine tourism industry, there is a concern
among the general public that tourism is harmful to the Great Barrier Reef.
A variety of boat tours and cruises
are offered, from single day trips, to longer voyages. Boat sizes range from
dinghies to superyachts. Glass-bottomed boats and underwater observatories are
also popular, as are helicopter flights. By far, the most popular tourist activities
on the Great Barrier Reef are snorkeling and diving, for which pontoons are
often used, and the area is often enclosed by nets. The outer part of the Great
Barrier Reef is favored for such activities, due to water quality.
Management of tourism in the
Great Barrier Reef is geared towards making tourism ecologically sustainable. A
daily fee is levied that goes towards research of the Great Barrier Reef. This
fee ends up being 20% of the GBRMPA's income. Policies on cruise ships,
bareboat charters, and anchorages limit the traffic on the Great Barrier Reef.
The problems that surround
ecotourism in the Great Barrier Reef revolve around permanent tourism
platforms. Platforms are large, ship-like vessels that act as a base for
tourists while scuba diving and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Seabirds
will land on the platforms and defecate which will eventually be washed into
the sea. The feces carry nitrogen, phosphorus and often DDT and mercury, which
cause aspergillosis, yellow-band disease, and black band disease. Areas without
tourism platforms have 14 out of 9,468 (1.1%) diseased corals versus areas with
tourism platforms that have 172 out of 7,043 (12%) diseased corals. Tourism is
a major economic activity for the region. Thus, while non-permanent platforms
could be possible in some areas, overall, permanent platforms are likely a
necessity. Solutions have been suggested to siphon bird waste into gutters
connecting to tanks helping lower runoff that causes coral disease.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Authority has also placed many permanent anchorage points around the
general use areas. These act to reduce damage to the reef due to anchoring
destroying soft coral, chipping hard coral, and disturbing sediment as it is dragged
across the bottom. Tourism operators also must comply with speed limits when
travelling to or from tourist destinations, to prevent excessive wake from the
boats disturbing the reef ecosystem.
Fishing
The fishing industry in the Great
Barrier Reef, controlled by the Queensland Government, is worth a$1 billion
annually. It employs approximately 2000 people, and fishing in the Great
Barrier Reef is pursued commercially, for recreation, and as a traditional means
for feeding one's family.
