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Modelling Trawl Impact on Benthic Biota in the Great Barrier Reef Region

Nick Ellis, Francis Pantus and C. Roland Pitcher

CSIRO Marine Research, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Theme: TH4

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) in the north-eastern part of Australia is a multiple-use marine protected area. One of the main extractive activities in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and inter-reefal areas is prawn trawling. The fishery is managed on two levels, by the Queensland State fisheries management authority and the federal marine park authority (GBRMPA). Knowledge of the impacts of trawling on benthic biota and its recovery has been, and is, fundamental for its management within the marine park area. Currently intensive field studies are underway to assess the impact on marine benthic biota of trawling and its recovery afterwards. In parallel to these field studies, a model has been developed to simulate the large-scale spatial distribution of impact/recovery due to trawl activities on the benthic biota. This model forms the basis for evaluating trawl management scenarios. This contribution describes the trawl impact simulation model and will also present the results of comparing some alternative management scenarios.