THE GREAT BARRIER REEF COAST MARINE PARK &
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY
GREAT BARRIER REEF COAST MARINE PARK (GBR Coast MP)
Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park (GBR Coast MP) is a Queensland State Marine Park that supports the zoning system within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMPA).
It runs from Bundaberg to Cape York and protects tidal lands and tidal waters.
GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY (GBRMPA)
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is Australia’s Reef Management agency and regulator.
GBRMPA works with Traditional Owners and GBR Coast MP to protect and manage the reef.
EYE ON THE REEF APP DOWNLOAD –
GOOGLE
APPLE
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The below information is to be used as a guide only.
The most up-to-date and thorough information can be found on the GBRMPA website by clicking the links.
PERMITS
• Activities within the Mackay and Whitsunday regions are regulated by permits.
• There are rules for operating that apply to all recreational and commercial users.
• Check the current requirements at least eight (8) weeks before each visit.
• Most activities on the Queensland mainland and islands (above high tide) or in port exclusion zones are outside the Marine Parks.
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SUPERYACHTS
Charter yachts and tourism operators require a permit to charter on the iconic Great Barrier Reef.
Applications must be submitted three months before the date you wish to access the marine park.
Captains and owners should review the following before cruising the Great Barrier Reef
• Zoning plan
• Plans of management
• Waste disposal regulations
• Anchoring locations
• Compulsory pilotage regulations
• Responsible reef practices
• Whale and dolphin watching regulations
SUPERYACHTS – PERMITS AND ZONES – GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK
CHARTER YACHTS – Up to 35m
PERMIT ALLOWS
• Everyday ‘roving access’ to the Marine Park
• Access the following zones:
LIGHT BLUE ZONE – GENERAL USE
DARK BLUE ZONE – HABITAT PROTECTION
YELLOW ZONE – CONSERVATION PARK
OLIVE GREEN ZONE – BUFFER
GREEN ZONE – MARINE NATIONAL PARK
WHITSUNDAY PLANNING AREA
• Cape Gloucester – Repulse and Thomas Islands
• Additional management provisions are required
• Check the specific management arrangements for significant bird sites
• There are some locations that you may not be permitted to visit listed as exclusions on your permit.
• You can access the Whitsunday Planning Area for up to 50 days per year with a booking.
GUESTS (passengers and crew)
15 – ability to access most locations
15+ – check that your group size matches the size limits for each location
OUTSIDE THE PLANNING AREA
You may only visit a location (generally a reef, island or bay) for two days in any seven-day period.
ACTIVITIES
There are specific rules for activities such as –
Fishing
Motorised watersports (for example jetskis)
Whale watching
Helicopters (check your permit for conditions)
Semi-submersibles (check your permit for conditions)
Extended charters
MOORINGS
There are rules regarding public or permitted private moorings
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CHARTER YACHTS – 35m – 70m
PERMIT ALLOWS
• Access to designated anchorages throughout the Marine Park.
• Access the following zones:
LIGHT BLUE ZONE – GENERAL USE
SHIPPING AREAS
• Ability to access other zones, when transiting to and from or anchoring at a cruise ship anchorage. (excludes pink zone)
• Ability to access other zones within the Planning Areas (excludes pink zone)
• Operation always beyond 500 metres of a reef or coastline except when transiting to and from or anchoring at a cruise ship anchorage.
TENDER
Tender access to the following zones if listed on your permit –
LIGHT BLUE ZONE – GENERAL USE
DARK BLUE ZONE – HABITAT PROTECTION
YELLOW ZONE – CONSERVATION PARK
ORANGE ZONE – SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
OLIVE GREEN ZONE – BUFFER
GREEN ZONE – MARINE NATIONAL PARK
• Your tender must remain within three nautical miles of your super-yacht during activities.
• You must ensure the group size on your tender is within the group size provided for at the location (refer to the specific Planning Areas).
• Your tender can be used for the following activities if listed on your permit within the setting areas –
Snorkelling
SCUBA diving
WHITSUNDAY PLANNING AREA
• Cape Gloucester – Repulse and Thomas Islands
• Additional management provisions are required
• There are some locations that you may not be permitted to visit listed as exclusions on your permit.
• You can access the Whitsunday Planning Area for up to 50 days per year with a booking.
• The boundary of a Setting in this Area is generally 1500 metres from the reef edge
• You can access a Setting 1 area, subject to any permit requirements
• Generally, a super-yacht must remain outside the other Setting areas Generally, you can anchor outside a Setting area and use your tender to access the area, provided that the group size in the tender is correct for that area and subject to any permit requirements
• You can access cruise ship anchorages in other Setting areas. Please make a booking with the GBRMPA’s Tourism and Recreation Group.
• Please check the arrangements for significant bird sites in the Whitsunday Planning Area
• You must observe the seasonal and year-round closures of significant bird sites.
ACTIVITIES
There are specific rules for activities such as –
Fishing
Motorised watersports (for example jetskis)
Whale watching
Helicopters (check your permit for conditions)
Semi-submersibles (check your permit for conditions)
Extended charters
MOORINGS
There are rules regarding public or permitted private moorings.
REEFVTS
• Yachts 50m + are required to participate in the Coastal Vessel Traffic Service (ReefVTS).
• This service provides vessels with shipping traffic information, navigational assistance and maritime safety information to aid on-board decision making.
• Contact the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Maritime Safety Queensland for more details.
ACTIVITIES
There are specific rules for activities such as –
Fishing
Motorised watersports (for example jetskis)
Whale watching
Helicopters (check your permit for conditions)
Semi-submersibles (check your permit for conditions)
Extended charters
MOORINGS
There are rules regarding public or permitted private moorings.
LINKS –
GREAT BARRIER REEF – SUPERYACHT CRUISING GUIDE
SUPERYACHT CRUISING GUIDE
SUPERYACHT GUIDE TO THE WHITSUNDAYS
SUPERYACHT MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
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ZONING
Each zone in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has different rules for the activities that are allowed, the activities that are prohibited, and the activities that require a permit. .
PINK ZONE – PRESERVATION
GREEN ZONE – MARINE NATIONAL PARK
ORANGE ZONE – SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
OLIVE GREEN – BUFFER
YELLOW ZONE – CONSERVATION PARK
DARK BLUE – HABITAT PROTECTION
PINK ZONE – PRESERVATION
• ‘No go’ area
• A person cannot enter a Preservation (Pink) Zone unless they have written permission.
• Extractive activities are strictly prohibited.
• A permit is required to conduct research in this zone.
• Research may occur in a Preservation (Pink) Zone, if it cannot be undertaken elsewhere, but only if the research is relevant to, and a priority for, management.
PROHIBITED
Aquaculture
Bait netting
Boating, diving, photography
Crabbing (trapping)
Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beachworm
Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
Limited collecting
Limited impact research – Permit required
Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
Line fishing
Netting (other than bait netting)
Research (other than limited impact) – Permit
Shipping (other than a designated shipping area)
Tourism program
Traditional use of marine resources
Trawling
Trolling
GREEN ZONE – MARINE NATIONAL PARK
• ‘No-take’ area
• Extractive activities like fishing or collecting are not allowed without a permit.
• Anyone (with the exception of unattached dories*) can enter and participate in activities such as –
Boating
Swimming
Snorkelling
Sailing
• Travelling through with fish on board is also allowed (it is only an offence to fish in a Marine National Park (Green) Zone).
• Fishing gear, such as rods with attached hooks, must be stowed inboard the boat or in rod holders. All fishing apparatus must be out of the water.
• Anchoring is allowed, however in high use and sensitive areas, use of a mooring may be necessary or there may be a no anchoring area defined by buoys.
• Commercial fishing dories must be attached to a mother vessel at all times
• Dories are vessels used in association with a primary (mother) commercial fishing vessel that is either licensed, permitted, or used, to fish on a commercial basis under a Commonwealth, State or Territory law. Dories must be attached to a primary vessel at all times.
ALLOWED
• Boating, diving, photography
• Limited impact research (non-extractive)
ALLOWED WITH PERMIT
• Research (other than limited impact-non extractive) – Permit
• Shipping (other than a designated shipping area) – Permit
• Tourism program – Permit
• Traditional use of marine resources – Permit (or TUMRA)
PROHIBITED
• Crabbing (trapping)
• Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beach worm
• Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
• Limited collecting
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
• Line fishing
• Netting (other than bait netting)
• Trawling
• Trolling
• Aquaculture
• Bait netting
ORANGE ZONE – SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
• This zone allows for research
• This zone is essentially the GREEN ZONE for non-researchers, where only non-extractive activities like swimming, snorkelling and diving are allowed without written permission.
ALLOWED
• Boating, diving, photography
• Limited impact research
ALLOWED WITH PERMIT
• Research (other than limited impact)
• Shipping (other than a designated shipping area)
• Tourism program
• Traditional use of marine resources – Permit (or TUMRA)
PROHIBITED
• Aquaculture
• Bait netting
• Crabbing (trapping)
• Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beachworm
• Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
• Limited collecting
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
• Line fishing
• Netting (other than bait netting)
• Trawling
• Trolling
OLIVE GREEN – BUFFER
• This zone is for the protection and conservation of areas of the Marine Park.
• Seasonal closures apply to some Buffer Zones.
ALLOWED
• Limited impact research (non -extractive)
• Trolling of Pelagic species such as
Trevally
Scad
Queenfish
Rainbow runner
Dolphinfish
Black kingfish or cobia
Barracuda
Sailfish
Marlin
Swordfish
Mackerel
Tuna
Bonito
Wahoo
Small toothed jobfish
Green jobfish.
ALLOWED WITH PERMIT
• Research (other than limited impact non-extractive)
• Shipping (other than a designated shipping area)
• Tourism program – Permit
• Traditional use of marine resources – Permit (or TUMRA)
PROHIBITED
• Extractive activities such as bottom fishing and spearfishing are prohibited in this zone
• Aquaculture
• Bait netting
• Crabbing (trapping)
• Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beachworm
• Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
• Limited collecting
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
• Line fishing
• Netting (other than bait netting)
• Trawling
YELLOW ZONE – CONSERVATION PARK
• This zone allows for increased protection and conservation of areas of the Marine Park.
• Provides opportunities for reasonable use and enjoyment including limited extractive use.
• Most extractive activities are allowed with additional restrictions for most fishing activities.
FISHING ACTIVITIES ALLOWED
• Limited line fishing (one hand-held rod or one hand-held line per person, with no more than one hook attached to that line)
• Trolling (no more than three lines per person and up to six hooks combined total per person). Trolling means a vessel is ‘underway’ (this is defined as a vessel under way, propelled through the water in a forward direction (whether by engine, sail or human power) and is not adrift)
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
• Bait netting
• Limited crabbing (four crab pots, collapsible traps or dillies)
• Limited collecting (includes oysters and bait, excludes take of coral, live or dead and anemones).
ALLOWED
• No more than one dory is to be detached from its primary commercial fishing vessel in the Conservation Park (Yellow) Zone and the Buffer (Olive Green) Zone.
• Aquaculture – Permit
• Bait netting – (Commercial fishers must not take beam, flathead or whiting while operating bait nets in the Conservation Park (Yellow) Zone) – Yes
• Boating, diving, photography – Yes
• Crabbing (trapping) – Limited
• Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beachworm – Permit
• Limited collecting – Yes
• Limited impact research – Yes
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only) – Yes
• Line fishing – Limited
• Research (other than limited impact) – Permit
• Shipping (other than a designated shipping area) – Permit
• Tourism program – Permit
• Traditional use of marine resources – Permit (or TUMRA)
• Trolling – Yes
PROHIBITED
• Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
• Netting (other than bait netting)
• Trawling
DARK BLUE – HABITAT PROTECTION
• This Zone provides for the conservation of areas of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by protecting and managing sensitive habitats.
• This ensures they are generally free from potentially damaging activities.
• Trawling is not permitted in the Habitat Protection (Dark Blue) Zone.
ALLOWED
• Bait netting
• Boating, diving, photography
• Crabbing (trapping)
• Limited collecting
• Limited impact research
• Limited spearfishing (snorkel only)
• Line fishing
• Netting (other than bait netting)
• Trolling
ALLOWED WITH PERMIT
• Research (other than limited impact)
• Shipping (other than a designated shipping area)
• Tourism program
• Traditional use of marine resources – Permit (or TUMRA)
• Aquaculture
• Harvest fishing for aquarium fish, coral and beach worm
• Harvest fishing for sea cucumber, trochus, tropical rock lobster
PROHIBITED
• Trolling
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MACKAY/CAPRICORN
The Mackay/Capricorn Management Area extends from –
Midge Point (south of Proserpine)
to the
Southern boundary of the Marine Mark (north of Bundaberg)
The most southern region includes a number of important habitats and popular destinations including –
• The Keppels
• Shoalwater Bay
• Capricorn Bunkers
• Lady Elliot Island
The region is known for its –
• fringing coral reefs
• dugong
• turtles
• migrating whales
• seabirds
ZONING MAP LINKS –
ZONING MAP 11 (HYDROGRAPHER’S PASSAGE)
ZONING MAP 12 (MACKAY)
ZONING MAP 13 (HARDLINE REEFS)
ZONING MAP 14 (SHOALWATER BAY)
ZONING MAP 15 (OFFSHORE SHOALWATER BAY)
ZONING MAP 16 (SWAIN REEFS)
ZONING MAP 17 (CAPRICORN)
ZONING MAP 18 (CAPRICORN BUNKER GROUP)
ZONING MAP 19 (OFFSHORE CAPRICORN)
Free zoning maps are available from the marina office.
MOORINGS AND NO – ANCHORING AREAS
Moorings help to minimise anchor damage to fragile environments.
There are two types of moorings in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park:
• PUBLIC MOORINGS
• PRIVATELY OWNED MOORINGS
PUBLIC MOORINGS
Public moorings are available to all Reef users and are installed at popular locations.
Blue double cone-shaped buoys attached to the moorings have a colour-coded band explaining:
• The class (vessel length)
• Time limits
• Maximum wind strength limits applicable to the mooring
LOCATIONS
• Roylen Bay
• Refuge Bay
• West Refuge Bay
• Homestead Bay
LINKS –
LOCATION OF PUBLIC MOORINGS AND REEF PROTECTION AREAS OFFSHORE MACKAY
PUBLIC MOORINGS – OFFSHORE MACKAY
PUBLIC MOORINGS AND ANCHORING – MACKAY AREA BROCHURE
PUBLIC MOORINGS – WHITSUNDAYS
PRIVATE MOORINGS
A large number of privately-owned moorings also exist in the marine parks, and you should have the owner’s permission before using these moorings.
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REEF PROTECTION AREAS – no anchoring
• Five Reef Protection Areas can be found in the offshore Mackay area and anchoring is not allowed in these areas.
• White pyramid-shaped buoys with a blue label
Reef Protection Areas –
• Keswick Island
• Homestead Bay, St Bees Island
• Turtle Bay, St Bees Island
• West Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island
• Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island
•
NO-ANCHORING AREAS
• No-anchoring areas protect coral reefs from anchor damage. A person must not drop an anchor for a vessel, aircraft or any other facility in a no-anchoring area.
• white pyramid-shaped buoys with a blue label.
•
TOWNSVILLE / WHITSUNDAYS
The Townville / Whitsunday Management Area extends from –
Mission Beach
to
Midge Point (south of Proserpine)
ZONING MAP LINKS –
ZONING MAP 6 (INNISFAIL)
ZONING MAP 7 (TOWNSVILLE)
ZONING MAP 8 (CAPE UPSTART)
ZONING MAP 9 (OFFSHORE BOWEN)
ZONING MAP 10 (WHITSUNDAYS)
ZONING MAP 11 (HYDROGRAPHERS PASSAGE)
Free zoning maps are available from the marina office.