Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Effects of Fishing Programme: Inter-reef movements of large reef fishes: Initial tagging experiment final report to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Abstract

The initial tagging exercise of a study of the inter-reef movement of large reef fish was performed on the Southern Cluster of the Effects of Fishing Experimental reefs in the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef marine Park between the 1st and 12th of April, 1992. Commercial coral trout fishermen were employed to capture the fish which were tagged by personnel from James Cook University and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The perimeter of each reef was divided into blocks and the total effort distributed as evenly as possible between the blocks on each reef. Due to bad weather conditions only 54% of the total number of blocks were fished.