NERP TE 8.2: Fish and Coral Monitoring in Great Barrier Reef Marine Reserves, 2011-2014

50 no-take marine reserve sites and 50 fished sites were monitored via underwater visual census across four island groups of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from 2011 to 2014. The project, associated with the Australian Ocean Data Network, assessed the ecological effects of management zoning on fish populations, benthic communities, and coral health. It also recorded fishing line counts to evaluate compliance with zoning regulations.

Use Cases

• Compare fish population densities between protected and fished reef sites based on underwater visual census data.
• Analyze the structure and dynamics of benthic communities on the sea bed as described in the monitoring scope.
• Assess coral health metrics, including bleaching and disease incidence, across different management zones.
• Model the distribution of fishing effort and non-compliance levels based on temporal monitoring of fishing lines.

Strengths

• Direct comparison of 50 protected versus 50 fished sites provides a balanced experimental design.
• Long-term monitoring from 2011 to 2014 captures temporal dynamics.
• Monitoring covers multiple ecological components: fish, benthic communities, coral health, and fishing effort.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the four specified island groups within the Great Barrier Reef.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Underwater visual census (UVC) monitoring.

Time Range

2011-2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-10 11:50:09.771163; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, specifically the Palm, Magnetic, Whitsunday, and Keppel Island groups.