Activities that will be allowed in each zone
The following tables provide an overview of the activities that will be able to be undertaken in different zones of the Great Sandy Marine Park when the final zoning plan takes effect in 2024.
Note: All fishing activities must comply with the restrictions or conditions placed upon them by the Fisheries Act 1994 and associated regulations, e.g. apparatus, bag and catch limits. All fishing equipment must be stowed and secured when in Marine National Park (green) zones.
| Zoning plan activities | General use zone | Habitat protection zone | Conservation park zone | Marine national park zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line fishing & trolling | Yes1 | Yes1 | Yes2 | No |
| Crabbing – pots/dillies | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Limited spearfishing | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bait netting (cast, scoop, seine net) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bait gathering (crabs, eugaries, worms, yabbies) by hand or by a hand-held implement | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Collecting3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Zoning plan activities | General use zone | Habitat protection zone | Conservation park zone | Marine national park zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line fishing & trolling | Yes1 | Yes1 | Yes2 | No |
| Crabbing – pots/dillies | Yes | Yes | Yes4 | No |
| Netting - large mesh gill nets and ring nets (N1 and N2 fishery symbols, including N1 symbols linked to N10 and K8) | Yes | Yes5 | No | No |
| Netting – tunnel (N10 fishery symbol) | Yes | Yes | No6 | No |
| Netting – beach haul (K8 fishery symbol) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Netting – set pocket (N1 fishery symbol) | Yes | Yes | No7 | No |
| Netting – bait (small mesh) (N11 fishery symbol) | Yes | Yes | Yes8 | No |
| Trawling – otter and beam | Yes | No | No | No |
| Harvest fishery – bloodworms | Permit | Permit | No | No |
| Harvest fishery – beachworms | Permit | Permit | Permit | No |
| Harvest fishery – yabby | Permit | Permit | No9 | No |
| Harvest fishery – marine aquarium fish | Permit | Permit | Permit | No10 |
| Harvest fishery – coral | No | No | No | No10 |
| Aquaculture (no addition of feed) | Permit | Permit | Permit | No |
| Zoning plan activities | General use zone | Habitat protection zone | Conservation park zone | Marine national park zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited impact research (non-extractive)11 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Limited impact research (extractive) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Permit12 |
| Research other than limited impact research | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit12 |
| Educational program (other than a limited educational program11) | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Zoning plan activities | General use zone | Habitat protection zone | Conservation park zone | Marine national park zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boating13 and diving14 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anchoring a vessel15 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Anchoring a vessel in an area for more than 14 consecutive days or 30 days in any period of 60 days | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Media activity (other than a limited media activity16) | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Tourism program | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Navigate a ship (vessel >50m length) or managed vessel17 | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Works consistent with the objects of the zone | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
| Operate a facility | Permit | Permit | Permit | Permit |
Notes
- Up to 3 hand-held lines/rods per person and a maximum of 6 hooks/lures.
- Up to 2 hand-held lines/rods per person and a maximum of 2 hooks/lures.
- Limited to no more than 2 specimens of the same species; a total of 5 specimens of a fish species mentioned in Schedule 2, Part 2 of the existing Marine Parks (Great Sandy) Zoning Plan 2017; or a marine invertebrate other than an excluded invertebrate, greater than 5mm in length.
- Limited to 4 crab pots or dillies except in Baffle Creek, Elliott River, Burrum River, Tin Can Inlet and most of Great Sandy Strait where commercial crabbing is allowed as a non-conforming use.
- Prohibited at Dayman Spit and in the Cherwell River and upstream reaches of the Burrum River.
- Allowed as a non-conforming use in parts of the Great Sandy Strait and Tin Can Inlet.
- Allowed as a non-conforming use in the Mary River.
- Taking of bream, flathead or whiting is prohibited.
- Allowed as a non-conforming use – restricted to two Fisheries Authority numbers.
- Permitted as a non-conforming use at a specific location.
- Not involving fishing or collecting.
- Research in MNP zones restricted to priority research for marine park management or research that cannot reasonably be conducted elsewhere.
- Restrictions apply in designated ex-HMAS Tobruk Area, No Motorised Vessel Areas, No Motorised Watersports Areas, the Platypus Bay Area and Go Slow Areas other than transit lanes.
- Restrictions apply in designated ex-HMAS Tobruk and Grey Nurse Shark Areas.
- Anchoring prohibited in designated No Anchoring Areas (NAAs), except for licensed commercial marine aquarium fish fishers while collecting within two specific NAAs (near Point Vernon).
- Recording of images or sounds with negligible impact on the marine park.
- Managed vessel is a hovercraft, wing-in-ground effect craft or a hydrofoil.
This is a summary only. Full details will be included in the revised Marine Parks (Great Sandy) Zoning Plan.
The zoning plan does not affect the operation of s.211 of the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.