Chosen Concept: The Great Barrier Reef
What Really Goes On In Our Oceans...
I have decided to focus my concept around The Great Barrier Reef and in particular the effects of over fishing on its beautiful coral reefs.
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) stretches 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast and includes over 2,900 reefs and, around 940 islands and cays. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 345,000 km² in size – larger than the entire area of the UK and Ireland combined or five times larger than Tasmania! (source).
Great Barrier Reef Threats ~
There are growing threats to the Great Barrier Reef, with the most serious being climate change, catchment pollution, coastal development, and fishing.
Outdated Fishing Practice
Not only is the reef subject to high levels of fishing pressure. Fishing practices, such as trawling for prawns, are permitted in over one-third of the marine park, resulting in untargeted fish capture (by catch), and damage to the seafloor and its resident plants and animals. (source).
Over-fishing
The fishing industry is second only to tourism in terms of income generation related directly to the Great Barrier Reef, bringing in an annual profit over $1 billion to Australia. While the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has made the majority of areas of the reef off-limits for fishing with an emphasis on reef sustainability, it is still a huge drawcard not only for commercial purposes but for leisure/sport fishing as well.
While many areas, techniques and species of marine life in the reef are protected by law, trawling for various types of permitted sea life (i.e: prawns, other molluscs) inevitably leads to other species getting caught in the nets as a side effect, while the nets themselves can also damage the ocean floor and its inhabitants as a result of its “drag effect” – not to mention the additional pollution which enters the seas due to the general passage of so many fishing boats. (source).
Over-fishing ~ Effecting the Reefs
Reefs are suffering directly and indirectly from the increasing pressure of mans' resource exploitation. Overfishing is one driving pressure that has had devastating impacts on coral reefs. Aggressive fishing methods have hurt coral reefs sometimes beyond repair. However, over-fishing in general is also a damaging problem to many coral reefs around the world. Specifically to the Great Barrier Reef, overfishing has caused a shift in the reef ecosystem. Overfishing of certain species near coral reefs can easily affect the reef's ecological balance and biodiversity. (source).