Management responses

Management responses are the actions or initiatives undertaken to protect, maintain and restore environmental assets, as well as those that prevent, mitigate or adapt to changes in the environment. They are generally developed in reaction to the observed or anticipated pressures and impacts, or the state of the environment. They act in a multitude of ways, either individually or, more often, in concert with one another to bring about environmental change.

Applicable management responses related to include:

Legislation

Fish Habitat Areas (FHAs) are declared under the Fisheries Act 1994. Queensland has 72 declared FHAs along its coast. This network provides long-term protection of high-quality fish habitats from the physical impacts of coastal development. This protection is essential for sustaining recreational, commercial and Indigenous fisheries.
The primary purpose of the Fisheries Act (and its Regulations) is to provide for the use, conservation and enhancement of the community’s fisheries resources and fish habitats in a way that seeks to:
(a) apply and balance the principles of ecologically sustainable development
(b) promote ecologically sustainable development.
Together with the Planning Act 2016 (the state’s overarching development assessment legislation), the Fisheries Act (and its Regulations) provides a legislative framework for the assessment of development works in declared FHAs that balances the principles of ecologically sustainable development and community access to fisheries resources, with the continued protection of fish habitats.
FHA legislation is supported by operational policies for managing FHAs and for the selection, assessment, declaration and review of FHAs. There is also a statutory Code of Practice for pest control in FHAs.
More information:
- Declared fish habitat areas
The primary objective of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 is to provide for the long term protection and conservation of the environment, biodiversity, and heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef Region. The Act provides for:
- the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
- a framework for the planning and management of the Marine Park through zoning plans, plans of management and a system of permissions.
Subordinate to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 (Zoning Plan) is the primary planning instrument for the conservation and management of the Marine Park.
The Zoning Plan considers the world heritage values of the marine park. It aims, with other management mechanisms, to:
- conserve the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem within a network of highly protected zones
- provide opportunities for the ecologically sustainable use of the Reef and access to the Great Barrier Reef Region by current and future generations.
More information:

The Marine Parks Act 2004 (the Act) provides for the conservation of Queensland’s marine environment by implementing a comprehensive range of management strategies, including:

the declaration of marine parks
the establishment of zones and designated areas, including highly protected areas within marine parks.

These management arrangements are formalised through gazetted zoning plans and, where necessary, the development of management plans.

The Act aims to achieve a coordinated and integrated approach with other environmental conservation legislation. It recognises the cultural, economic, environmental and social relationships between marine parks and their adjacent lands and waters.

International and national responsibilities

Australia’s international responsibilities and intergovernmental agreements are essential considerations in park management. Marine parks extend across areas adjacent to the Queensland coast under the control of the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments. Both governments have agreed that, as far as practicable in managing marine parks, state legislation will be consistent with the relevant Commonwealth legislation. This agreement is critical in the Great Barrier Reef region, where complementary measures support the management of this significant area.

Queensland marine parks

Marine parks are multiple-use areas that provide for various activities and visitor opportunities, e.g. fishing, tourism, education, research and coastal infrastructure. The zoning plans prescribed under the Act describe where the types of uses can occur and various other management measures.

Three marine parks have been declared under the Act, and corresponding zoning plans have been established:

The Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park
The Great Sandy Marine Park
The Moreton Bay Marine Park.

Along with the Commonwealth Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, approximately 99% of the east coast of Queensland sits within a marine park.

The plans and regulations that support the Act are:

Marine Parks (Declaration) Regulation 2006
Marine Parks (Great Barrier Reef Coast) Zoning Plan 2004
Marine Parks (Great Sandy) Zoning Plan 2024
Marine Parks (Moreton Bay) Zoning Plan 2019
Marine Parks Regulation 2017.

Annual reporting on the administration of the Act supports vital communication and accountability. From 2020 to 2024, there have been three annual reports. The findings are below.

Amendments

Instrument	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Marine Parks Act 2024	0	1	1
Marine Parks (Declaration) Regulation 2006	0	0	0
Marine Parks (Great Barrier Reef Coast) Zoning Plan 2004	1	0	0
Marine Parks (Great Sandy) Zoning Plan 2017	1	0	0
Marine Parks (Moreton Bay) Zoning Plan 2019	2	1	0
Marine Parks Regulation 2017	1	2	0

Approved management plans

No new management plans for marine park areas were approved in the reporting period.

Authorities

Category issued	Current @30/06/21	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
State -Commonwealth joint marine park permissions	5236	1767	1448	1415
State-only marine park authorities	742	169	126	215
Commercial activity agreements	31	2	6	11

Offences and enforcement

Category		2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Penalty infringement notices	Number issued	130	78	72
	Number withdrawn	4	2	4
	Number of court elects	4	3	5
	Number of reviews	5	3	3
Formal investigations	Number completed	2	1	2
Prosecutions	Number progressed	0	N/A	1
Prosecutions	Number of matters finalised	3	3	1

Accreditations

Marine park	Purpose	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Moreton Bay Marine Park	Oyster Industry	1	1	1
Great Sandy Marine Park	Aquaculture	1	1	1
Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park	Protection and conservation of identified values	0	0	1
	Traditional use of marine resources	9	10	10
	Limited impact research	8	8	8

Legislative provisions

Marine Park	Provision	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Moreton Bay Marine Park	Special activity notice	7	7	7
Moreton Bay Marine Park	Regulatory notice	3	3	3
Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park	Special activity notice	1	1	1
Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park	Regulatory notice	4	4	4

More information:

Marine Parks

The Convention on Wetlands, commonly called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
Queensland has five Ramsar sites recognised as being wetlands of international significance under this convention:
- Moreton Bay
- Bowling Green Bay
- Currawinya Lakes
- Great Sandy Strait
- Shoalwater Bay and Corio Bay.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) establishes a framework for protecting and managing Ramsar wetlands in Australia, including Australian Ramsar management principles relevant to preparing Ramsar site management plans.
Queensland is responsible for:
- the nomination of its Ramsar sites
- the development and maintenance of site documentation
- ensuring the maintenance of the ecological character of the sites
- notification of any changes or likely changes to the ecological character of the sites.
The appropriate landholders and land managers are responsible for managing wetlands and their associated flora and fauna. Many groups engage in Ramsar management activities, including natural resource management groups, community groups, Traditional Custodians, and local and state governments.
In addition to managing Ramsar sites, the Queensland Government is responsible for promoting the wise use of all wetlands.
Targets
- All Ramsar site documentation (Ramsar Information Sheets) is up to date.
- Ramsar management principles and values are incorporated into management, policy and planning documents.
- Knowledge gaps are identified and addressed and the information is used in management.
- The values and conservation of Ramsar sites and all wetlands are promoted through education, website materials and events.
Outcomes
- Conservation measures, rehabilitation, and monitoring ensure that the ecological character of the sites is maintained.
- Queensland, Commonwealth and Local Governments, natural resource management groups, Traditional Custodians, researchers, industry and other community representatives work together to manage the Ramsar sites in a coordinated manner.
- The ecological character of all Ramsar wetlands is maintained.
More information:
- Nationally (DIWA) and internationally important (Ramsar) wetlands

Policy and Programs

The Australian Government funds a crown-of-thorns starfish management program, which involves manually injecting starfish to protect coral cover on priority reefs, particularly prime tourism sites.
A highly collaborative effort, the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program is run in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Reef and Rainforest Research Centre along with supporting government agencies, industry partners and contractors.
Reef managers, researchers, Program contractors, and the tourism industry and operators have worked in partnership over the past decade to deliver crown-of-thorns control operations at increasing spatial scales.
The following information is drawn from the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2024.
The Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program (Control Program) aims to protect coral across a network of high-value reefs by suppressing starfish numbers to sustainable levels. It has become a core management action to enhance the Great Barrier Reef’s resilience under a changing climate.
There is strong evidence that the Control Program effectively reduces the severity of outbreaks and protects coral across entire reefs and regions timely culling can effectively suppress outbreaks to the point where coral growth greatly exceeds losses from predation.
Importantly, these protected coral communities continue to replenish local and downstream reefs with coral larvae, supporting the recovery and adaptation of the Region’s reefs after major disturbance events. The Control Program:
- delivers crown-of-thorns starfish suppression and coral protection outcomes across hundreds of reefs
- augments the benefits of zoning plans and other management actions to enhance the resilience of the Reef and the industries that rely on it.
The risk level associated with crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks has reduced from very high in 2019 to high in 2024. This reduction is driven by management actions, including proactive surveillance and targeted culling by the Control Program, coupled with an improved understanding of the program’s effectiveness. Benefits have also accrued from:
- past establishment of no-take zones, which protect starfish predators and enhance recovery from outbreaks
- additional protection measures for predators implemented through fisheries reforms.
More information:
The purpose of the Environmental Protection (Water and Wetland Biodiversity) Policy 2019 (EPP Water and Wetland Biodiversity) is to achieve the objectives of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) in protecting Queensland’s water environment while allowing for ecologically sustainable development.
Environmental values and water quality objectives
The EPP Water and Wetland Biodiversity sets out the environmental values (EVs) and water quality objectives (WQOs) for all Queensland waters.
- EVs define the uses of water by aquatic ecosystems and humans (e.g. drinking water, irrigation, aquaculture, recreation).
- WQOs define the objectives for the water’s physical, chemical and biological characteristics (e.g. nitrogen content, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, toxicants, fish).
- Locally derived EVs and WQO are being progressively determined for Queensland waters to inform environmental decision-making (see the map below).
Where the Queensland Government have derived the EVs and WQOs for specific Queensland waters, they are set out in Schedule 1 of the EPP Water and Wetland Biodiversity. This schedule is a part of the legislation. Therefore, planners and managers must consider it when making decisions about waters and water quality.
EVs and WQOs can be used in several ways in legislative and non-legislative decision-making. Once scheduled, they inform:
- planning and decision-making for development under the EP Act (e.g. point source environmentally relevant activities)
- local government planning and decision-making for urban land development under the State Planning Policy (Water Quality State Interest - Planning Act)
- best practice management approaches to address diffuse emissions from rural lands
- development of report cards on aquatic ecosystem health
- catchment-scale management planning and decisions by non-legislative Regional NRM bodies.
The most recent waters included in Schedule 1 are the South East Queensland Basins; Burdekin, Haughton and Don Basins and Mackay Whitsunday Basins, approved in 2022.
The Great Barrier Reef Blueprint for Climate Resilience and Adaptation (Blueprint 2030) is the next chapter in addressing the challenge of climate change impacts on the Reef.
The Blueprint 2030 will help the Reef Authority deliver on the objectives of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cth) to protect and conserve the Reef now and into the future. It is a strategic roadmap to strengthen Reef resilience and a key deliverable of the Australian and Queensland government’s Reef 2050 Plan, the overarching framework for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef to 2050.
At the heart of Blueprint 2030 are five strategic goals that will drive how the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority adapts its management under a changing climate to progressively and effectively respond to the risks identified in the Outlook Report.
More information:

Every five years, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority prepares the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report, which examines the Reef’s health, pressures, management and long-term outlook.

Protection and management issues are complex, given the wide range of activities in the Region and its Catchment and the variety of effects these activities can have on the Reef. Effective management of the Great Barrier Reef Region depends on partnerships between:

government
Traditional Owners
industry
community.

For the Outlook Report 2024, five independent assessors assessed the effectiveness of existing measures to manage and protect the Region’s ecosystem and heritage values.

The following information is drawn from the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2024 ’s ‘Existing protection and management’ chapter. The independent report is available on the Reef Authority website.

Effective management of the Region is a complex task, given the range of threats and their variation across space and time. The management effectiveness assessment focused on the six elements of the management framework:

context
planning
inputs
processes
outputs
outcomes.

The assessment addressed 14 broad management topics and considered the activities of relevant Australian and Queensland government agencies and other contributing partners.

Framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas

Effective management is a closed loop, where issues are considered, plans are made, resources are expanded, processes are followed, and products and services are delivered, all leading to outcomes that address the issues.

Key current and future initiatives to improve the Reef’s values and support resilience. Source: Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2024

Management effectiveness overall

The 2024 assessment found the Region continues to be well-managed overall, with over 80% of the elements across the management topics considered effective or mostly effective. Notable management improvements since 2019 include enhanced funding and planning initiatives through the Reef 2050 Plan and Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027. However, effectiveness declines have occurred for some management aspects since 2019.

Managing direct use

Direct use of the Region is generally well-managed, likely due to the lower complexity involved (compared with managing external factors) and the maturity of the management systems.

Well-resourced planning and management systems are in place to support sustainable commercial marine tourism activities.
Defence activities and shipping are both considered well-regulated and effectively managed.
Port authorities are typically well-resourced and provide a high degree of environmental management for port activities, which carry with them a range of risks.
Fishing management outcomes remain only partially effective in 2024; however, significant reform is being implemented through the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy.
Traditional use of marine resources and management of Sea Country have been assisted by Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements. The ‘Agreement to Partner’ is a key step in progressing Traditional Owner aspirations for the Reef.
Research activities and recreational use are generally considered well-managed and low=risk, but knowledge gaps remain regarding both the cumulative impacts of research activities and in the changing nature and scale of recreational use in the Region.

Managing external factors

External factors influencing the Region include:

climate change
coastal development
land-based runoff.

Management is considered the weakest for climate change and coastal development. Nevertheless, climate change has seen the most improvement in management effectiveness since 2019, including enhanced management of climate change risks and advances in climate change policy at national, state and local levels.

Notable policy advances in climate change management include:

the introduction of the Climate Change Act 2022 (Commonwealth)
the inclusion of a specific work area under the Reef 2050 Plan that articulates clear goals and strategic actions towards achieving emission reduction targets.

Despite this progress in policy, the management of the Reef regarding climate change remains subject to significant challenges.

Coastal development activities are managed within a multi-level governance system. Planning systems are well-developed, but integration and coordination between land and marine-based planning is a significant challenge. While improvements have occurred in the management of land-based runoff, along with a general reduction in pollutant loads since 2019, the 2025 water quality targets are not expected to be met.

Managing to protect the Region’s values

Management that protects the Region’s biodiversity, heritage, and community benefit values is mostly effective. However, inputs to management of heritage and community benefits have not improved from partially effective, and achievement of heritage and biodiversity outcomes has been trending downward since 2019.

Results

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Understanding of context: Context was the strongest element in the management effectiveness framework. Managers generally had a good and improving understanding of the values relevant to each management topic (although this was weakest for heritage and coastal development), national and international influences, and key stakeholders. While condition and trends for each topic were generally known, threats and their impacts were less well known. Specifically, the cumulative and consequential impacts of threats were generally poorly understood across most management topics.

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Planning: Planning performed well in relation to overall management effectiveness with no topics being graded as ineffective or partly effective. Reef planning is spatially complex, spanning marine and terrestrial environments and requires effective coordination of actors and systems. Management topic-specific legislation, plans and policies apply across multiple spatial scales (international to local) and sectors. The Reef 2050 Plan is the overarching plan addressing most of the key elements required for effective Reef management and the Intergovernmental Agreement sets the framework for joint coordination of planning and management. Strengths of planning include certainty around where activity can occur (Zoning Plan), setting clear actions and planning consistency across jurisdictions (Reef 2050 Plan).

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Financial, staffing and information inputs: Inputs for most topics were graded as mostly effective, with four topics rated as partially effective (climate change, coastal development, heritage and community benefits). Funding in general, has increased across most topics with improvements in the funding for water quality improvement, Reef management and conservation, Reef restoration and adaptation, and strengthening partnerships and stewardship. Innovative funding strategies are being developed (for example the Reef Recovery 2030 fundraising campaign by the Reef Trust Partnership). The adequacy of human resourcing within all managing organisations was the weakest of all topics and was partly impacted by COVID-19. Data inputs overall are effective, although there are gaps in Indigenous heritage and historic heritage information. Provisioning of adequate data sharing platforms was also identified as a key deficit particularly for research efforts. Non-government involvement was also mostly effective reflecting the strong level of community engagement and interest in the Reef.

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Management systems, processes and governance: Processes for many topics remained stable since 2019 but there were declining trends for community benefits, coastal development, land-based runoff and research. Strengths were identified in relation to engagement with stakeholders and the integration of biophysical and socio-economic information into decision-making. Weaknesses relate to the integration of Indigenous and heritage information, consideration of cumulative and consequential impacts, and limitations in governance systems (such as gaps in effective engagement of local governments and other key actors, coordination among jurisdictions and siloed approaches). Declines in governance effectiveness reflect the scale and complexity of matters that need to be addressed as part of Reef management and point to the need for more substantial institutional redesign or rethinking of principles and values underpinning governance goals.

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Delivery of outputs: Outputs remained stable for the majority of topics. Upward grade changes, such as that for climate change, reflect the improvement in the planning system. Declines across research, traditional use of marine resources and land-based runoff are a result of resourcing issues during the period of COVID-19 restrictions, which impacted the outputs that could be delivered. While the delivery of outputs was generally strong, especially in terms of delivering products and related actions, there were weaknesses in achievement of results against objectives. This in part reflects the absence of clear objectives for some management topics or misalignment of outputs with expected objectives.

Criteria and component summaries	Grade and trend
Achievement of outcomes: The achievement of outcomes was the weakest of all elements of the management effectiveness framework. However, results were highly variable across the management topics with most direct use areas performing well but external factors and overall values performing poorly. The outcomes for five topics were graded as partially effective for biodiversity, coastal development, fishing, heritage and land-based runoff. The management outcomes for climate change were graded as ineffective. The relatively poor achievement of outcomes partly reflects a range of external influences on the Reef (such as bleaching events and climate change stressors) but also reflects an increasing understanding of the extent of existing impacts. Outcomes for climate change and biodiversity were poor across a number of indicators, including the protection of values, reduction of threats, and environmental, economic and social sustainability. Poor outcomes for heritage reflect the poor and deteriorating condition of many Indigenous heritage values and many historic heritage sites, especially underwater cultural heritage. However, there was evidence of effective partnerships across most of the management topics.

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.
Overview
The Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program undertakes predator control and turtle nest monitoring activities across 43 beaches covering 564km of the Queensland coastline.
Since its inception, the program has contributed to:
- over 45,000 turtle nests monitored
- removal of 38,206 feral pigs
- direct protection of 567 nests
- fumigation of 476 fox dens.
Targets
- Priority marine turtle nesting sites in coastal Queensland will achieve a minimum successful hatching rate of 70% clutches laid (for each species over an annual reporting cycle), contributing to a sustainable marine turtle population and, in turn, contributing to the Outstanding Universal Values of the Great Barrier Reef.
Outcomes
- Across the combined projects, 40,467 turtle nests survived predation (90% of monitored nests) and produced hatchlings (1.45 million)
- All projects included the involvement or implementation by Traditional Owner groups, mainly through the Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers or community groups
- 188 Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers, who undertook predator control and nest monitoring, have supported the program since its inception.
Turtles in Cape York
Studies of turtle nesting on Cape York in the late 1970s and early 1980s showed that feral pigs were responsible for predation of more than 70% of turtle nests. This program has dramatically improved turtle hatchling survival in the past ten years.
The northwestern Cape York supports small nesting aggregations of nesting Olive Ridley turtles, listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) and Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld).
For multiple decades, the species has experienced greater than 90% nest predation at some beaches and is also heavily impacted by ghost nets in the Arafura-Timor Seas and the Gulf of Carpentaria. As a result, Olive Ridley turtle populations in the northwestern Cape York has significantly declined.
The area also supports significant numbers of flatback turtles, which have also declined moderately. Since 2014, Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger teams have consistently reduced predation levels to less than 30% by undertaking strategic predator measures, including specific timing of intervention at targeted locations across all project sites.
More information:
The Queensland Reef Water Quality Program is the Queensland Government’s core response to addressing water quality impacts affecting the Great Barrier Reef. The program’s activities are part of implementing water quality actions in the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (Reef 2050 WQIP). The Reef 2050 WQIP is nested under the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.
The Queensland Reef Water Quality Program has been underway from 2020 to 2024. This program:
- funds various water quality improvement projects, working with industry, agricultural producers, communities, and Traditional Owners to deliver water quality improvements
- is designed to build on the successes and learnings from previous phases
- incorporates recommendations from the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce (2015-16) to ensure that the Queensland Government continues to invest in the activities that will have the greatest impact.
The program is designed to accelerate progress towards Reef 2050 WQIP targets by:
- improving land management through voluntary and regulatory approaches
- restoring resilient and functional landscapes, with a particular focus on gullies and stream banks, to drive progress towards the sediment targets
- building regional capacity to deliver better water quality outcomes
- delivering, supporting, and translating the best available science and knowledge.

The Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017–2027 (QSFS) sets out the government’s reform agenda over ten years. As the strategy is approaching its conclusion, the government is transitioning to 5-year plans developed with industry and stakeholders under the Department of Primary Industries' 25-year blueprint.

QSFS sets clear targets to be achieved by 2020 and 2027 and a range of actions to deliver on the vision and targets. There are 33 actions across ten reform areas.

Targets

QSFS has set several targets to establish sustainable catch limits based on achieving maximum economic yield for all Queensland fisheries and demonstrating that no Queensland fisheries are overfished.

By 2027, Queensland aims to have:

set sustainable catch limits based on achieving maximum economic yield for all Queensland fisheries (around 60% biomass)
identified that no Queensland fisheries are overfished
increased certainty for commercial operators
reduced the volume of fisheries regulation
improved trends of compliance rates
implemented a responsive and consultative approach to fisheries management.