Each marine park — Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park, Great Sandy Marine Park and Moreton Bay Marine Park — has a zoning plan which guides the management of the marine park. Zoning plans are required to undergo a statutory review every 10 years to ensure that the management arrangements in place are the most appropriate to conserve the marine environment while allowing for sustainable use.

A review of the zoning plan for the Great Sandy Marine Park was completed in 2023, with a new zoning plan that increases the protection of vulnerable habitats and threatened species taking effect on 21 May 2024. Objectives of the review included:

• improve the network of zones to better reflect global biodiversity targets
• address specific threats to habitat quality, integrity and management
• protect cultural values and recognise the responsibilities of First Nations peoples to Care for Country
• improve protection for long-term recovery of threatened species.

Informed by community feedback, advice from First Nations peoples, recommendations from an independent scientific reference group, socio-economic information and scientific research, as well as best practice marine park management principles, the new zoning plan included the following key changes:

• a change in zoning to represent 12.8% of the area of the marine park in green zones contributing to a total of 28.6% of the marine park in highly protected zones (green and yellow zones)
• the removal of commercial large mesh gill nets and ring nets (previously operating under N1 and N2 fishery symbols) from the Great Sandy Strait, Baffle Creek, Elliott River and Burrum River
• measures to increase protection of threatened species, including shorebirds, turtles, dugongs and grey nurse sharks
• measures to protect cultural and amenity values
• zone changes to facilitate local government responses to increased coastal erosion from climate change impacts.

Information is currently being gathered to inform a review of the Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning plan.

Adaptive Management

Development of a new Management Effectiveness Evaluation to inform an Adaptive Management Program is underway. The Program is being designed to facilitate outcomes-focused marine park management as well as inform future sunset reviews of zoning plans for the Moreton Bay and Great Sandy Marine Parks.