This dataset contains the amalgamated set of Special Management Areas (SMAs) in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as described in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983, Amendments 2008. This includes:
SMA - No Dories Detached,
SMA - Princess Charlotte Bay,
SMA - Public Appreciation,
SMA - Restricted Access,
SMA - Seasonal Closure,
SMA - Dugong Protection Area B,
SMA - Dugong Protection Area A,
SMA - Natural Resources Conservation
Dugong Protection Areas:
This layer shows the Special Management Areas that provide additional protection for Dugongs from commercial fishing. The Dugong Protection Areas ban or restrict the use of commerical netting within these areas.
Zone 'A' Dugong Protection Areas include significant dugong habitats in the southern Great Barrier Reef. In these areas, the use of offshore set, foreshore set and drift nets are prohibited, except in Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait Protection Area where specialised fish netting practises are allowed to continue with modifications. The use of river set nets are allowed with modifications in Zone 'A' Dugong Protection Areas, except in two key areas where river set nets are prohibited (Hinchinbrook and Shoalwater Bay Dugong Protection Areas). Other netting practices such as ring, seine, tunnel and set pocket netting which are not considered to pose a serious threat to dugong are unaffected.
In Zone ‘B' Dugong Protection Areas mesh netting practices are allowed to continue, but with more rigorous safeguards and restrictions than before.
Princess Charlotte Bay:
This Special Management Area has been designated to protect dugong within Princess Charlotte Bay in the Far Northern Management Area of the Marine Park. The Special Management Area requires commercial net fishers to obtain a permit to operate within Princess Charlotte Bay.
Public Appreciation:
These Special Management Areas restrict spearfishing, commercial aquarium fish collecting, coral harvesting, beachworm harvesting, and aquaculture from being undertaken.
Restricted Access:
These areas may not be used or entered without written permission. In addition, shore access to many islands may be restricted or restricted seasonally. Please refer to the Department of Environment and Resource Management for more information.
Seasonal Closure:
The Ribbon Reefs and adjacent areas are unique, as they are located at a particular part of the continental shelf, which drops sharply away from the reef edge. These important areas of reef support diverse species, including large pelagic fish such as marlin.
Special Management Areas designated in these areas provide additional protection to the Ribbon Reefs and adjacent habitats. These Special Management Areas prohibit all fishing and detached dories in these areas from 1 January to 31 August each year.
No Dories Detached:
This layer shows the boundaries of the No Dories Detached Special Management Area specified within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004.
This Special Management Area regulates the number of dories that may be detached from a commercial fishing vessel.
Natural Resources Conservation:
There is a Natural Resources Conservation Special Management Area declared for:
Mermaid Cove, Lizard Island Locality 1
In addition to the rules for the Conservation Park (yellow) Zone, you cannot spearfish or conduct fishing or collecting in this area, except for trolling and bait netting for pelagic species.
This metadata record was created for the eAtlas and is not authoritative. Please contact GBRMPA for more information. To obtain this dataset go to the GBRMPA spatial information website, download the appropriate data usage agreement and send it through to gis@gbrmpa.gov.au.
To cite this dataset in the eAtlas:
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, (2008). Special Management Areas (SMA) within Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. eAtlas Archive. https://eatlas.org.au/data/uuid/41dd5285-88ec-40c3-be85-f3e0b7c80c27
