The Great Barrier Reef Nemo
Great Barrier Reef Location
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef - Heron Island Beach
The Great Barrier Reef Diver
Country: Australia
State: Queensland
Gateway City: The Great Barrier reef is situated off the coast of tropical North Queensland in northeast Australia. There are many gateway Australian cities. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park begins at Cape York in Queensland and stretches southward to near Bundaber
Climate: Tropical. Sunshine abounds at the Great Barrier Reef, with an average 300 sunny days per year! Summer temperatures range from the low 70s to the low 90s. Winter temperatures range from the high 50s to the mid-70s. The rainy monsoon season spans from No
Number of visitors per year: Approximately 2 million tourists from around the world and 5 million local recreational visitors enjoy the Great Barrier Reef each year.
History
Australian Aborigines have lived in the Great Barrier Reef area for at least 40,000 years, and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived in the area for at least 10,000 years. The Great Barrier Reef plays a vital role in the culture and spirituality of approximately 70 clans.
Europeans first became aware of the Great Barrier Reef when Captain James Cook’s ship HM Bark Endeavour ran aground in 1770. The HMS Pandora sank in the Great Barrier Reef area in 1791, killing 35. The Queensland Museum leads archaeological digs to the Pandora.
The Great Barrier Reef was not studied much during the 19th Century, as there were no atolls on the reef system. Only a few lighthouses were built and some islands were mined for guano deposits.
The Great Barrier Reef Committee was established in 1922 to research the reef. The Queensland National Trust has named the reef a state icon of Queensland.
About
The Great Barrier Reef is visible from outer space. It is one of the most complex and diverse ecosystems on the entire planet. The Great Barrier Reef was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1981. It is the world’s single largest structure created by living organisms—in this case, coral polyps.
Size
The Great Barrier Reef’s 900 islands extend for 1,616 miles over a 132,974-square-mile area.
Best Season to Visit
The busy season at the Great Barrier Reef is May through October. Although that’s the dry season, it’s also tourist season; rates will be higher and reservations will be more difficult to obtain.
Highlights
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
The park encompasses the Great Barrier Reef.
Glass-Bottomed Boat Tours
If snorkeling or scuba diving aren’t your cup of tea, you can enjoy the stunning reef life from a glass-bottomed boat.
Residents
The Great Barrier Reef supports many environmentally Vulnerable and Endangered Species. The Great Barrier Reef is home to 30 species of dolphins, whales and porpoises.
Minke Whale
Only the Pygmy Right Whale is smaller than the Minke Whale. Minke Whales are 22 to 24 feet long and weight four to five tons. Babies are seven to nine feet long at birth and nurse for five months. Minke Whales at the Great Barrier Reef are characterized by their black and white coloring.
Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin
The Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin is characterized by elongated dorsal fins and a hump on the back.
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales are larger whales, reaching 40 to 50 feet long and weighing 35 tons. The humpback whale at the Great Barrier Reef is characterized by its knobby head and long pectoral fins. Humpback Whales often surface and slap the water in a robust manner. Males sing complex songs, which can last for 10 to 20 minutes; they repeat the songs for hours on end.
Dugong
Dugongs are large marine mammals. Like their cousin the Manatee, Dugongs are only one of four living species in the order Sirenia. Most Dugongs in the world live in the Great Barrier Reef area of northern Australia, between Moreton Bay and Shark Bay.
Green Sea Turtle
There are two distinct species of Green Sea Turtle within the Great Barrier Reef:
one in the northern area, and one in the southern. Green Sea Turtles are environmentally categorized as Endangered.
Activities
Reef-observing activities abound at Great Barrier Reef: scuba diving, boat tours, helicopter flights, underwater observatories and snorkeling. You can choose from glass-bottomed boats to dinghies to super yachts, taking short day trips or multi-day trips.
Approximately 840 tourism operators and 1700 tourism vessels are permitted to operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. E-mail tourrec@gbrmpa.gov.au.
Conservation projects
Much of the Great Barrier Reef is environmentally protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which was created in 1975. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park works to minimize environmental damage from tourism, climate change, overfishing, runoff and outbreaks of invasive species.
The Great Barrier Marine Park launched a new zoning plan in 2004, which is broadly acclaimed as a global benchmark for conserving marine ecosystems. According to the plan, highly protected zones increased from 4.5 percent to 33 percent. The Great Barrier Reef is the second largest protected marine area on Earth, behind only Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument. Every five years a Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report is published that examines the reef’s management, health and environmental pressures.
How to donate
Reef Check Australia:
P.O. Box 404
Townsville
QLD 4810
Telephone +61 (0)7 4724 3950
support@reefcheckaustralia.org
http://www.reefcheckaustralia.org/membership.cfm
Great Barrier Reef Foundation:
Managing Director & CEO Judy Stewart
Telephone +61 7 3211 8890
http://www.barrierreef.org/asp/index.asp?pgid=33797
World Wildlife Federation Australia: https://secure.wwf.org.au/act/donate/
