Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning maps

Those who think they can get away with illegal fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park should think again. Authorities are ramping up their patrols and it's not like you can hear or see them coming in time to skedaddle with the fish stashed out of sight.

As evidenced by a recent compliance crackdown over the September school holiday period and October long weekend in 2017,  authorities detected 78 recreational fishing offences in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Helicopter patrols were a key part of their surveillance success.

Aerial and on-water patrols ran day and night targeting known non-compliance hot-spots in the Capricorn Coast, Whitsundays, Mackay, Townsville, Innisfail, Mission Beach and Cairns areas.

Most reported offences (69) were for  bottom line fishing, trolling and spearfishing from no-take green zones. Other offences included excess lines in a yellow (conservation park) zone (7), and two cases of fishing in the scientific research zone at Orpheus Island, which requires a permit.

The Townsville and Cairns areas saw the most illegal recreational fishing, with 27 offences for each region recorded over the two-week blitz. Most of the Townsville activity was detected by helicopter surveillance. The Whitsundays region was the source of 15 offences, followed by Mackay-Capricorn Coast with seven offences.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority field management director Chris Cochrane said the recent illegal activities highlighted how important it was for marine parks users to know their zoning rules, know how their GPS units displayed zoning and understand what’s allowed before heading out on the water.

"Unfortunately, there is always a percentage who don’t follow the zoning rules — despite our warnings that we are out and about in the Marine Park — and this number of offences is presenting an unacceptable risk to the health of the Reef.

"Poaching is not only unfair to the people who value the marine parks and do the right thing, but this illegal activity also threatens the ongoing resilience of the Reef and its ability to recover and support fish stocks into the future, which is particularly critical following two consecutive years of coral bleaching."

Free zoning maps are available at bait and tackle shops, visitor information centres, ship chandlers, and Marine Park Authority, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol offices or by calling (07) 4750 0700.

If you plan to the fish The Reef, the maps are also available online at Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning maps.

Members of the public can help to protect the Reef by reporting
suspected illegal fishing and other activities to the 24-hour hotline 1800
380 048 or via this
Online Report Form.