Protecting the Great Barrier Reef starts with limiting ocean warming. Local conservation can also give reefs more room to recover by improving water quality, protecting habitats and controlling crown-of-thorns outbreaks. Visitors can choose responsible operators, avoid damaging coral and submit useful sightings. At home, support emissions cuts and projects with clear conservation goals and published results.
What protects the Reef
The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is the overarching Australian and Queensland government framework. It brings together climate action, catchment and marine management, and restoration. The Australian Government’s July 2026 update says a review is underway. Traditional Owners have their own Reef 2050 Implementation Plan, setting priorities for Sea Country, governance and accountability. Reef 2050 Plan · Traditional Owner Implementation Plan
| Conservation action | What it achieves |
|---|---|
| Cut greenhouse gas emissions | Limits additional warming and acidification. Fewer or less severe heat extremes give reefs more time to recover between disturbances. |
| Improve catchment water quality | Works upstream to reduce pollutants reaching coastal waters. Measures can include stabilising eroding gullies and streambanks, improving nutrient management and protecting wetlands. |
| Enforce zoning and improve fisheries practices | Limits where activities such as fishing can occur and reduces some risks to habitats and wildlife. Queensland plans to phase out commercial gillnet fishing in the World Heritage Area by mid-2027. |
| Suppress crown-of-thorns outbreaks | Reduces direct coral loss on priority reefs, using repeated surveys and targeted control by trained teams. |
| Support Traditional Owner-led management | Supports community-led priorities for cultural heritage, species and habitat monitoring, customary use and caring for Sea Country. |
Reef Authority Outlook Report · 2026 Catchment Water Quality Strategy · Marine Park zoning · Queensland fisheries transition · Crown-of-thorns control
What the water-quality report card can tell you. The 2023–2025 report card recorded progress towards targets for several pollutants, alongside a decline in measured inshore marine water quality. Above-average rainfall and river flows likely influenced the marine result. These indicators track different stages of the problem, from changing land practices to the conditions coastal habitats experience. The strategy released in 2026 uses a 2023 baseline for its new 2032 targets. 2023–2025 Reef Water Quality Report Card · Catchment water-quality strategy FAQs
How restoration works
Larval seeding, often called Coral IVF. Teams collect spawn, raise larvae in pools or tanks and release them at suitable sites. Success depends on settlement, survival and eventual reproduction. The number of larvae released is an early measure. Long-term monitoring shows how many contribute to future coral communities.
Coral propagation and outplanting. Teams can grow coral fragments or young corals in nurseries and attach them at selected sites. Where loose rubble prevents settlement, stabilising the substrate can help corals establish.
Research and pilot deployment. The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program tests interventions in field settings and evaluates feasibility, cost, safety and benefits. A method that works at one site still has to be tested across conditions and at useful scales. Great Barrier Reef Foundation restoration projects · RRAP Pilot Deployments Program
How to assess a restoration result. Ask what prevented recovery at the site in the first place. A reef with few incoming larvae needs a different intervention from a reef where larvae arrive but loose rubble stops them establishing. Compare treated sites with similar untreated sites where possible and follow the results through more than one season. That helps distinguish a treatment effect from natural recruitment or an unusually favourable year. Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program field testing · Great Barrier Reef Foundation on rubble stabilisation and monitoring
What visitors can do
Choose a responsible operator. The Reef Authority lists independently certified High Standard Tourism Operators. Ask where the boat goes, how the crew helps visitors avoid coral contact and whether it contributes to monitoring or Traditional Owner-led work.
Keep fins and equipment clear of coral. Float over shallow reef with enough clearance and practise buoyancy over sand if diving. Give turtles space to surface, avoid feeding wildlife and leave coral where it is.
Check zoning before boating or fishing. Use designated moorings where available. Where anchoring is allowed, keep the anchor and chain away from coral. Check fishing rules, seasonal closures and restrictions for your exact location.
Record a useful sighting. Through Eye on the Reef, submit a dated, geolocated photo of what you saw, such as bleaching, a crown-of-thorns starfish or marine debris. Add approximate depth or number where relevant. Tell your crew about a sighting that needs immediate attention. High Standard Tourism Operators · Responsible Reef Practices · Eye on the Reef Sightings Network
How to help from home
Reduce emissions where you have leverage. Consider electricity, regular transport and work or business purchases, then support policies and decisions that reduce emissions at larger scale.
Choose a project you can evaluate. For a donation or volunteer opportunity, check the project’s location, local partners, target outcomes and reporting. For a restoration project, look for survival or habitat outcomes alongside planting totals. For a Traditional Owner-led project, check who directs the work and how communities benefit.
Follow the right measures. Use the Reef Water Quality Report Card for catchment progress, AIMS for long-term coral monitoring and programme reports for specific interventions. This helps you see whether a project is doing what it set out to do. Reef Water Quality Report Card · AIMS long-term monitoring