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The Mission Beach Trawl Closure - a Response to Community Expectations in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Phil Cadwallader

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA

Theme: TH1

Extensive fish kills as the result of discards from trawlers operating in shallow, inshore waters off Mission Beach in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, have occurred since the 1970s. These kills have resulted in dead fish floating on the water surface and being washed up on beaches. Apart from the ecological impacts of trawling, such fish kills have an impact on recreational amenity, tourism businesses and Australia's reputation as the guardian of a World Heritage Area. To address the problem, a closure to trawling has recently been introduced off Mission Beach. The call for the introduction of the trawl closure came from local, coastal communities and appears to reflect a changing public attitude towards not accepting such fishing-induced mortalities. Local community groups, recreational fishers, the tourism industry and conservation groups all support the trawl closure. Commercial fishers are concerned about loss of access to trawl grounds. The process, which resulted in the introduction of the trawl closure off Mission Beach, provides an interesting case study of the changing relationships between the general community, the fishing industry and natural resource management in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.