Bramble Reef replenishment area: third post-opening survey

Abstract

The replenishment area on Bramble Reef in the northern Central Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was closed to fishing by the GBRMPA on the 1st January 1992 to allow stocks of fish species targeted by fishermen to recover. We made a baseline survey of these target fish species and other important reef organisms on Bramble and three adjacent control reefs: John Brewer, Lodestone and Davies, in early September 1991, prior to the closure (Ayling and Ayling 1992a). Surveys of coral trout, crown-ofthorns starfish and butterflyfishes have been made on these control reefs on four occasions since 1983, providing a useful temporal comparison with the baseline results. Similar annual post-closure surveys have been made in the May/June period in 1992 (Ayling and Ayling 1993), 1993 and 1994 (Ayling and Ayling 1994b), and 1995 (Ayling and Ayling 1997). Concern that fishing pressure was being transferred from Bramble to three adjacent reefs following the replenishment closure resulted in the survey being extended to include these reefs, Britomart, Trunk and Little Trunk Reefs, as three new controls in all surveys since 1993. Bramble Reef was re-opened to fishing on 1st July 1995, and following reports of heavy fishing immediately following the opening we were contracted to conduct the first post-opening survey in August 1995, eight weeks after the opening (Ayling and Ayling 1997). Follow up surveys were made in May 1996 and July 1997 (this report), one and two years respectively after the re-opening.