List of figures

The list below contains all the figures in the Outlook Report 2024. 

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1. About this report

Figure 1.1 Great Barrier Reef Region and Catchment
A map of the Queensland coastline outlining the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef Region and catchment area, from the tip of Cape York to just north of Bundaberg.
Figure 1.2 Jurisdictional boundaries
The Commonwealth and the State of Queensland have jurisdiction over various parts of the Region (red and blue lines, respectively). An intergovernmental agreement ensures integrated field management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the abutting Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park through joint management of marine parks and island national parks. The Queensland territory extends from the mainland to the three nautical mile limit.
Figure 1.3 Assessments within the Outlook Report 2024
An infographic showing the Great Barrier Reef as a social-ecological system and which Outlook Report chapters are relevant to parts of the graphic.
Figure 1.4 Human dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef for the Outlook Report
An infographic showing the Great Barrier Reef as a social-ecological system and which Outlook Report chapters are relevant to parts of the graphic.
Figure 1.5 Assessment approach to determine final grades
A flow chart describing the assessment approach to arrive at grades and trends which are presented at the end of each chapter. For each of the required statutory assessments, specific criteria and grading statements guide the analysis of available evidence and provide transparency.
Figure 1.6 Grades for criteria are informed by grades for components
An example of a grading statement and how they relate to the assessment summary tables.

2. Biodiversity

Figure 2.1 Major habitats that comprise the overarching ecosystems of the Reef and Catchment
Infographic combining a cross-section illustration that depicts the major habitats described in the Outlook Report and their relative distributions, moving from the Great Barrier Reef Catchment on the left through the inshore, mid-shelf and outer-shelf reefs on the right.
Figure 2.10 Green turtle strandings in the Region, 2000 to 2023
: Between 2000 and 2009, the number of stranded green sea turtles was lower than 50 animals per year, rising to over 100 animals in 2010. In 2011 (the year of cyclone Yasi) and 2012 numbers reached an unprecedented high of over 350 turtle strandings. Subsequent years saw a reduction in stranding numbers again to pre-Yasi levels. Since 2019, strandings have increased slightly every year.
Figure 2.11 Estimated dugong densities in the Great Barrier Reef since 2005
The left figure shows that dugong density in the northern Great Barrier Reef has increased slightly since 2006, with the last two surveys in 2019 and 2023 showing very similar densities with 0.249 and 0.250 dugongs per square kilometer, respectively. The right figure show that the dugong density in the southern Great Barrier Reef has declined since 2005, with the lowest densities being recorded in 2011. The value for 2022 was less than 0.14 dugongs per square kilometer.
Figure 2.2 Reef geomorphological features
The left side of this split image shows a three-dimensional image created from multibeam sonar data of the northern Great Barrier Reef. The image depicts different underwater geomorphological features such as the lagoon floor, mid-and outer-shelf reefs, mesophotic reefs and the continental shelf edge.
Figure 2.3 Rates of coastline change relative to 2022
The figure consists of four maps of the Queensland coastline at the scale of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with inset maps of the coastline from north of Cooktown to south of Cairns, showing average annual rates of coastal change (in metres per year) for mainland areas between 1988 and 2022 in the top left, mainland areas between 2019 and 2022 in the bottom left, offshore areas between 1988 and 2022 in the top right and offshore areas between 2019 and 2022 in the bottom right.
Figure 2.4 Condition of inshore seagrass meadows in each region between 2005–06 and 2022–23
This timeseries graph shows annual results for the Marine Monitoring Program seagrass index from the 2005–06 to 2022–23 monitoring years in the Cape York, Wet Tropics, Burdekin, Mackay Whitsundays, Fitzroy, and Burnett Mary regions.. The seagrass index combines scores for seagrass abundance and resilience on a scale of zero to one hundred.
Figure 2.5 Trends in mean hard coral cover since 1986 for the northern, central and southern Reef
: A bar chart each for the three regions: Northern, Central, and Southern region, shows annual mean hard coral cover in percentage since 1986. These coral cover results and condition more broadly are explored in the main text.
Figure 2.6 Changes to coral communities since 2018
Three photos in the top row show the same section of reef at North Reef, in 2018, 2021 and 2023. Over the course of the time series, the visible coral cover at that site has noticeably increased. The three photos in the second row show the coral recruitment in Manta Ray Bay. Left to right: images taken in December 2019, March 2022, and May 2023 showing an increase in the number and size of Acropora recruits with each survey.
Figure 2.7 Distribution and structure of Halimeda bioherms in the northern Great Barrier Reef
Map of the northern Ribbon Reefs, showing that Halimeda bioherms are distributed all along the inside of the reefs. Three detailed computer generated 3D images show the variation in bioherm morphology.
Figure 2.8 Three-dimensional views of continental slope features
The computer-generated 3D image on the left shows the underwater morphology of Princess Charlotte Bay where deep canyons have been carved into the continental slope. The 3D image on the right shows the plunge pools around Small Detached Reefs in Cape York.
Figure 2.9 Abundance of some coral reef fishes, 2008 to 2023
Eighteen line graphs depicting the average abundance of surgeonfish, butterflyfish and parrotfish counted by divers from reefs located inshore, mid-shelf and offshore in the following regions- Cooktown and Lizard Island, Cairns, Innisfail, Townsville, Whitsundays, Pompeys, Swains, and the Capricorn Bunker. Each line graph shows available data from the surveys between 2009-10 to 2023-24 noting not all sites were surveyed in every year consistently so there are some data gaps.

3. Ecosystem health

Figure 3.1 Major physical, chemical and ecological processes
The diagram is of a landscape with the Reef’s supporting coastal ecosystems depicted via a continental land mass with mountains, coastal development, such as city, marina and wind farm, bordering a river mouth with white arrows naming the processes.
Figure 3.10 Benthic photosynthetic available radiation, daily average, 2002 to 2019
Map of the Great Barrier Reef Region and World Heritage boundary showing amount of light available for photosynthesis that reaches the sea floor.
Figure 3.11 Modelled annual average dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) near the surface, 2011 to 2018
Map of the Great Barrier Reef Region and World Heritage boundary showing modelled estimates of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). Values range from 0.1 (in dark purple) to 10 (in dark red) micrograms per Litre. Lowest values, between 0.2 and 0.4 micrograms per Litre, are mostly down the length of the mid-shelf of the Great Barrier Reef.
Figure 3.12 Modelled annual average total chlorophyll-a near the surface, 2011 to 2018
Map of the Great Barrier Reef Region and World Heritage boundary showing modelled estimates of chlorophyll-a. Values range from 0.1 (in dark purple) to 1.5 micrograms (in dark red) per Litre. Lowest values, between 0.1 and 0.15 micrograms per Litre, are mostly offshore of the continental shelf between Cairns and Townsville, and some smaller areas around the inner-mid shelf reefs north of Princess Charlotte Bay.
Figure 3.13 Regional abundance of herbivorous fishes, 1994–95 to 2022–23
Line graph of herbivorous fish abundance through time. The northern region had consistently higher abundances than the central and southern regions, which were more similar to each other. In 1994-95, the southern region had the lowest abundance - with less than 25 fish per transect compared to more than 25 and 60 fish per transect in the central and northern regions respectively.
Figure 3.14 Recruitment can be complex, relying on many different habitats and processes
The conceptual diagram is of a landscape depicting the Reef and it’s supporting coastal ecosystems, similar to figure 3.1, including mangrove habitats, river mouth, sandy beaches on the mainland and islands, reef, shipwreck and seagrass beds. Life cycles of corals, turtles, seabirds and reef fish are depicted via arrows to connect the different components. Corals release gametes into the water column, which fertilise and dissipate, then settle onto the substrate following their larval phase.
Figure 3.15 Coral cover change under different crown-of-thorns starfish management actions
Nine scatterplots showing relative change in coral cover (y-axes range from -100% to +100%) on reefs over time expressed as number of years since start of the fourth outbreak on the Great Barrier Reef.
Figure 3.16 Trichodesmium abundance, Yongala Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) National Reference Station, 2010 to 2023
A series of 6 scatterplots with trendlines showing trichodesmium abundance. There are 3 different methods of collection, and each method is presented on an annual timeseries (from 2010 to 2023) and a seasonal timeseries (from January to December).
Figure 3.2 Seasonal prevailing surface currents and oceanic upwelling within the Region
Figure is of two maps, side by side, both depicting the Eastern Australian coast down to Brisbane and up to the base of Papua New Guinea, focusing on the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef. The Queensland and Marion Plateaus are named, positioned centrally, and arrows are draw over the ocean region: narrow lines depicting weak currents and thick dark lines depicting strong current areas.
Figure 3.3 Number and severity of cyclones, 1970–71 to 2023–24
Bar graph showing the number of cyclones to enter the Region through time. There were 17 years between 1970/71 and 2022/23, that did not experience any cyclones; 1976-77 experienced the most – four cyclones, ranging between category 2 and category 4.
Figure 3.4 Total annual freshwater discharge from major rivers in the Catchment, 2003–04 to 2022–23
Bar graph showing total annual freshwater discharge volume through time. Discharge increased from around 50 million megalitres (less than 1.5 times long term median flow) in 2003/04 to more than 80 million megalitres (between 1.5-2 times the long-term median flow), in 2007/08 and 2008/09, and to a peak of over 200 million megalitres (more than 3 times the long term median flow) in 2010/11.
Figure 3.5 Annual freshwater discharge from major rivers, by region, 2003–04 to 2022–23
Series of 6 bar graphs showing annual freshwater discharge volume through time, from north to south; Cape York, Wet Tropics and Burdekin along the top; Mackay Whitsunday, Fitzroy and Burnett Mary along the bottom.
Figure 3.6 Satellite image of the Normanby River flood plume, 22 December 2023
Satellite photo above Princess Charlotte Bay in Far North Queensland showing the brown waters emerging from the Normanby River mouth into the bay and spreading northwards along the coast. The plume surrounds some of the inshore islands and touches some reefs further offshore. The brown waters extend beyond the extent of the image.
Figure 3.7 Sea level trends around Australia
This figure includes a map and a table. The map of Australia shows sea level trends based on satellite altimeters. On the Reef, the sea level rise between December 1992 to February 2024 ranges from 2 to 5 mm / year. The table has 3 rows and 7 columns. The first row includes column headings. The first column header cell is blank, but the column includes the time range. In the first row, the time range is 1966 to 2023. In the second row, the time range is 1993 to 2023.
Figure 3.8 Warming of sea surface temperature at global and Reef scales since the 1980s
Composite figure with a line graph on top, and a map of the Great Barrier Reef Region and World Heritage boundary below. The x-axis on the graph shows a calendar year from January to December and the y-axis shows temperature and ranges from 19.5 to 21.5 degrees Celsius.
Figure 3.9 Sea surface temperature anomalies for Great Barrier Reef waters, 1910 to 2023
Bar graph showing annual difference in sea surface temperatures from the long-term average. Y-axis ranges from -1.5 to 1 degree Celsius.

4. Heritage values

Figure 4.1 Other heritage values
A two-tiered diagram with an elongated icon listing Human wellbeing in the first line of its top tier, followed by the associated adjectives healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous in the second line.
Figure 4.2 Strong Peoples — Strong Country
A colourful diagram explaining the links of the six identified Indigenous hubs to strong people- strong country as identified by the Indigenous Heritage Expert Group. 1) Country health, 2) People’s health, 3) Heritage and knowledge, 4) Culture and community, 5) Education, 6) Empowerment and economics.
Figure 4.3 Nature is inseparable from Indigenous cultural identity
Infographic showing a 3-dimensional image of the land extending down to the ocean with inshore and offshore islands. Turtles, fish and dugongs swim in the ocean over coral reef and seagrass meadow. Rock art and a lighthouse appear on an island in the foreground. Across the land and sea are white flowing markings with music symbols and dots representing culturally important song lines and connections valued by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Figure 4.4 Historic lightstations and lighthouses in the World Heritage Area
A map of the Queensland coast identifying the historic lightstations in the World Heritage area with coloured dots. Red dots with a yellow halo are Commonwealth heritage listed lightstations and four are identified: Low Isles 1878, Dent Island 1879, North Reef 1878 and Lady Elliot 1873. The green dot identifies other lighthouses or lightstations, and only one is listed at Pine Islet 1885. The orange dots identify three lighthouses or lightstations no longer in situ: Wharton Reef 1915, Bay Rock 1886, Cape Bo
Figure 4.5 Values of importance to human wellbeing
A two-tiered diagram with an elongated icon listing Human wellbeing in the first line of its top tier, followed by the associated adjectives healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous in the second line.

5. Commercial and non-commercial use

Figure 5.1 Commercial and non-commercial uses
A coloured diagram depicting the commercial and non-commercial uses of the Region. The three dimensional image depicts land, islands, and the ocean. Eight circles have illustrations of different uses both above and below the waterline. These circles depict traditional use, commercial marine tourism, recreational fishing, commercial fishing, research and educational activities, recreation, defence activities and shipping.
Figure 5.10 Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery harvest and effort in the Great Barrier Reef, 1995 to 2022
: A combined column and line graph indicating the tropical rock lobster fishery harvest and total allowable commercial catch (in tonnes) on the primary y-axis and fishery effort (in days) on the secondary y-axis, with years between 1995 and 2023 on the x-axis.
Figure 5.11 Ecological groups retained by major commercial fisheries in the Great Barrier Reef in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022
A column graph depicting the harvest (in tonnes) of predators, omnivores, herbivores, particle feeders and other/unknown by line, net, plot and trawl fisheries in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022.
Figure 5.12 Residents’ frequency of visitation of the Reef for recreation in a 12-month period (2021)
This is a bar graph. The x-axis has 7 categories that show different groups of frequency visitation. The y-axis shows the percentage of survey respondents that answered each category.
Figure 5.13 Number of recreational vessels registered and population in the Catchment, 2001 to 2022
A line graph depicting that shows the total population in the Catchment and the number of vessel registrations in the Catchment from 2001–2022.
Figure 5.14 Recreational vessel registration per local government area and recreational boating facilities in the Catchment
A map of the Queensland coast with a line marking the Great Barrier Reef Region and World Heritage Area boundary. Along the coastline of Queensland are yellow dots to mark the locations of boat ramps. There are five coloured categories based on the total number of vessel registrations at various coastal local government areas.
Figure 5.15 Proportions of recreational vessel types registered, 2001 to 2023
There are two stacked bar graphs. The y-axis on both graphs is for the proportion (of the total vessel registration) of different vessel types and the x-axis on both graphs are years, ranging from 2001 to 2023. The top graph depicts vessels longer than 4 metres whilst the bottom graph depicts vessels under 4 metres.
Figure 5.16 Number of groundings of recreational, commercial fishing and commercial tourism vessels in the Marine Park, 2019 to 2022
: A simple column graph showing the number of groundings involving either recreational, commercial fishing or commercial tourism vessels in the Marine Park since 2019. Y-axis is the number of vessel groundings and x-axis is the financial years from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
Figure 5.17 Dredge material disposal (capital and maintenance) in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, 2009 to 2023
A column graph depicting the volume of dredge material disposed of within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area through time. The y-axis has the volume of dredge material disposed of at sea measured in cubic metres. The x-axis is years between 2009 and 2023.
Figure 5.18 Maintenance dredging volumes in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, 2004 to 2023
This Figure is a panel of 1 map and 5 column graphs. This is a map of the Region and Catchment, with yellow squares indicating the location of priority ports and green squares represents the minor ports.
Figure 5.19 Ships visiting the Region, 2013 to 2022
Total number of ships visiting the Region per calendar year and the total number of voyages made by those ships within the calendar years between 2013 and 2017. The ships include coal carriers, bulk carriers, container carriers, vehicle carriers, general cargo ships, tankers and cruise ships (fishing, other tourism and recreational vessels are not included).
Figure 5.2 Number of tourism visitor days, 2014 to 2023
A tri-coloured bar graph depicting the number of people visiting one of three management areas between 2014 to 2023. The y-axis shows tourism visitation scale from 0 to 1,200,000. The x-axis shows individual years from 2014 to 2023. Within each year, there are three management areas: Cairns-Cooktown, Townsville-Whitsunday and Mackay-Capricorn. There are 30 bars on the graph. The three colours within each bar are blue, purple and orange, indicating an individual management area. Cairns-Cooktown and Townsvill
Figure 5.20 Ships processed by major trading ports in the Region, 2019 to 2022
A bar chart with the x-axis show 6 categories representing each trading ports (Cairns, Townsville, Abbot point, Mackay, Hay Point, and Gladstone). Each category then contains a series of 5 coloured bars representing different years: 2019 (blue bar), 2020 (purple bar), 2021 (orange bar), 2022 (green bar), 2023 (blue bar). The y-axis depicts the number of ships processed by each port ranging from 0 to 2000.
Figure 5.21 Major shipping channels and shipping density
Two maps stacked on top of each other. The top map depicts shipping routes and designated shipping areas in the Region. The bottom map of the Queensland coast includes a series of small hexagons each a different colour representing the total number of detections of vessels for June 2023. The hexagon is coloured to show where the ships have tracked and the heaviest traffic areas are within the shipping channels of the Region.
Figure 5.22 Total number of voyages through the six main passages that enable ships to enter the Reef via the designated shipping channel, 2013 to 2022
Multi-tone bar graph, with six different bar colours, one for each of the main shipping passages depicting the total number of ships that pass through per year. Bar colours are light blue (Grafton Passage); Purple (Great North East Channel); orange (Hydrographers Passage); green (Great Barrier Reef North (inner route)); dark blue (Palm Passage) and brown (Whitsunday Passage). The x-axis shows time in years from 2013 to 2022. The y-axis depicts the total number of voyages taken by ships.
Figure 5.23 Ship groundings and collisions, 1985 to 2023
: A two toned stacked bar graph showing the number of incidents from either groundings (blue) or collisions with the seafloor (red) from 1985 to 2023. The y-axis is number of incidents from 0-6. The x-axis is time in years from 1985 to 2023.
Figure 5.24 Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreements, Indigenous Land Use Agreement groups and Indigenous Protected Areas within the Region in 2023
This image is a map diagram of the Queensland coast depicting the boundary of Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRA) in place, Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUA), Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) and circle symbols showing where Traditional Owner groups are exploring sea country planning.
Figure 5.3 Defence training sites in the Region
This is a map of the Region, with blue polygons indicating defence training sites. The size of the polygon indicates the general size of the site. The largest polygons are over Townsville (the site of the Townsville Star) and Shoalwater Bay. Small polygons are located over Lizard Island, Cairns inner, mid-shelf and outer-reef, Halifax Bay/Rattlesnake Island, Cape Cleveland off Townsville and Elliot and Amberley in the southernmost area of the Region.
Figure 5.4 Top three species caught and kept by recreational fishers during 2023
An infographic showing the top three species kept by recreational fishers in 2023, in different areas of the Reef.
Figure 5.5 Charter fishing total harvest and effort in the Great Barrier Reef, 2008 to 2022
A column and line graph depicting the charter fishing total catch and effort (respectively) from 2008 to 2022. The graph has two Y axes. On the primary Y axis, the columns indicate the total number of tonnes caught and secondary Y axis is a line depicting fishing effort (in days). Years from 2008 to 2022 are on the x axis.
Figure 5.6 Commercial fisheries harvest and effort in the Great Barrier Reef, 1990 to 2022
A series of four column and line graphs (one for each of the four major fisheries), each with two Y axes, depicting the commercial fisheries harvest (in tonnes) on the primary Y axis, fishing effort (in days) on the secondary Y axis and years from 1990 to 2022 on the x axis.
Figure 5.7 Commercial coral trout line fishing harvest and effort in the Great Barrier Reef, 1990 to 2022
A column graph with two Y axes, the primary one depicting the harvest (in tonnes) of coral trout and the secondary Y axis shows fishing effort (in days). The x axis shows years from 1990 to 2022.
Figure 5.8 Spanner (via dillies), swimmer and mud crab (via pot) fishing harvests and effort in the Great Barrier Reef, 1990 to 2022
The graph depicts harvest and effort for crab fisheries in the Great Barrier Reef through time – for blue swimmer and mud crab, and spanner crab.
Figure 5.9 Participation, effort and harvest in the Queensland Coral Fishery 2006 to 2021
Two stacked graphs. The top is a line graph depicting participation rates (in active licenses) and effort (in days) on the primary and secondary y-axis, respectively, and financial years in the x-axis. . The bottom graph is a combiend column and line graph. The columns depict the average annual product (in tonnes) harvested in the coral fishery for two categories (specialty coral and other coral).

6. Factors influencing the Region’s values

Figure 6.1 Drivers of change and factors influencing the Region’s values
An infographic that shows the various drivers of change - economic growth, population growth, technological development and societal attitudes. These can affect the factors that influence the Region, including land-based runoff, coastal development, climate change and direct use.
Figure 6.10 Agricultural data time series for the Great Barrier Reef Catchment area
Line graph showing total numbers of sheep (depicted by a blue line), cattle (red line) and area under crops (green line) within the Catchment. X-axis shows years between 1860 and 2021. Two separate y-axes are shown: number of livestock on the left and total area under cropping in hectares on the right.
Figure 6.11 Modelled depth at which biologically meaningful light pollution can be detected across the Region in August
A map of the Region with sea areas shaded along a blue to green to yellow colour gradient to show light pollution, measured as the light penetration depth in metres. A scale bar indicates the range in modelled light penetration from 0 (dark blue) through to 21 metres at the high end (yellow). Light pollution is evident in areas immediately adjacent to Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Gladstone.
Figure 6.12 Wetland modifications caused by bunding, a barrier to flow
This figure comprises a map (top) and a bar graph (below). The map shows an example location within the Region, with land areas shaded to show system status. The bar graph includes ten categories of bunding along the x axis, separated in two main groups: those where system change has been detected shown as red or pink bars and those where no system change has been detected shown as orange bars.
Figure 6.13 Average modelled dispersal of river-derived dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) loads for water years 2019 to 2023 (1 October to 30 September)
This figure comprises 3 maps with sea area shaded along a colour gradient to show spatial variation in average river-derived DIN across the Region for 2019 to 2023.
Figure 6.14 Average modelled dispersal of river-derived total suspended sediment (TSS) loads for water years 2019 to 2023 (1 October to 30 September)
This figure comprises 3 maps with sea area shaded along a colour gradient to show spatial variation in average river-derived TSS across the Region for 2019 to 2023.
Figure 6.2 Economic growth in Queensland, 1990–91 to 2022–23
A bar graph with blue bars showing the annual per cent change in the Queensland gross state product and red bars showing the annual per cent change in Australian gross domestic product for each financial year between 1990–91 and 2022–23.
Figure 6.3 Total economic activity in Queensland, 1989–90 to 2022–23
A bar graph with blue bars to show total economic activity for Queensland. The x axis includes all financial years between 1989–90 and 2022-23 and the y axis shows gross state product in millions of dollars. A steady even rise in gross state product is observed each year from just below $150,000 million in 1989-90 to just over $450,000 million in 2022-23. A small pause in this growth is observed in 2019-20, before returning to the same general increasing pattern.
Figure 6.4 Changes in global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations since 1980
Two line graphs are shown side by side. The left hand graph shows that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has risen steadily from approximately 340 parts per million in 1980 to just below 420 parts per million in 2022. The right hand graph shows that the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has also risen between 1980 and 2022, with year to year variation. Across the time period, the rate of increase has been between 0.5 and 3.0 parts per million per year.
Figure 6.5 Annual global mean surface temperature anomalies (land and ocean)
Bar graph showing an overall steady increase in global mean surface temperature anomalies between 1950 and 2023. In 1950 the temperature anomaly was approximately 0.2 °C lower than the rolling 30-year average, and in 2023 it was approximately 1.0 °C higher than average.
Figure 6.6 Projected sea level change within the Region under a future high emissions scenario
A map with sea areas coloured in shades of blue to illustrate the variation in projected sea level rise across the Region by 2090 under a high emissions scenario.
Figure 6.7 Projected vulnerabilities of components of the Reef ecosystem to climate change
This infographic depicts two main aspects of climate change: top graph: the response of the physical environment to increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide and bottom graph: the projected vulnerability of different habitats and groups of species in response to changes in the physical environment.
Figure 6.8 Coral reef futures with and without adaptation to increasing sea surface temperatures
Two graphs are shown side by side, both have year along the x axis and percentage of healthy reefs on the y axis.
Figure 6.9 Proportion of land uses in the Catchment by natural resource management region
Six pie charts indicating the land use of the six natural resource management regions, Cape York, Wet Tropics, Burdekin, Mackay Whitsunday, Fitzroy and Burnett Mary. The 10 land-use categories are (1) Conservation and natural environments (including wetlands), (2) Forestry – production, (3) Grazing natural vegetation, (4) Intensive animal production, (5) Intensive commercial, (6) Intensive mining, (7) Intensive urban, (8) Production – dryland, (9) Production – irrigated and (10) Water storage and transport

7. Existing protection and management

Figure 7.1 Jurisdictional boundaries and a subset of relevant key legislation
An indicative infographic showing a cross section of the Great Barrier Reef Region, ranging from beyond the highest astronomical tide on land to the left, to the mean low water mark, the three nautical mile limit, the Great Barrier Reef Region boundary and the Exclusive Economic Zone boundary on the right.
Figure 7.2 Framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas
This wheel diagram depicts Evaluation as the centre circle with six radiating segments which represent the elements of the management cycle framework. 1. Context - status and threats: where are we now? 2. Planning - where do we want to be and how will we get there? 3. Inputs - What do we need? 4. Process - How do we go about management? 5. Outputs - what did we do and what products or services were produced? 6. Outcomes - what did we achieve?

8. Resilience

Figure 8.1 The resilience components of a social–ecological system
Conceptual diagram with a background landscape overlain by flow chart and icons.
Figure 8.2 Example of the effect of crown-of-thorns starfish control effort near Townsville, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
This figure has four panels. The top (first) panel is a line graph that shows estimates for coral cover (in percentage) on the primary y-axis and starfish densities (number of crown-of-thorns starfish per manta tow) on the secondary y-axis. The x-axis shows the years from 1990 to 2022. There is a vertical grey shaded area from 1998 to 2008 highlighting the third crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak and a green shaded area from 2016 to 2022 highlighting the fourth crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak.
Figure 8.3 Multiple disturbances affecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2018–19 to 2022–23, December to March
Three coloured map layers are overlayed over the base map in a left to right sequence: maximum extent of primary and secondary water types (left map); total accumulated exposure to cyclone-generated waves exceeding 4 metres in height (middle map); and thermal stress as maximum degree heating weeks reached between 01 December to 31 March for the 2018-19 to 2022-23 summers (right map).
Figure 8.4 Summary of the state of inshore seagrass for each Natural Resource Management region, 2005 to 2022
This is a timeline from 2005 to 2022 providing a semi-quantitative depiction of the seagrass condition index for the Region and its individual components for the 6 natural resource management (NRM) regions.
Figure 8.5 Condition of inshore seagrass meadows for the Burdekin region, 2005–06 to 2022–23
This is a line graph with “Seagrass condition index (score)” on the y-axis and financial years on the x-axis (from 2005-06 to 2022-23). In 2005-06, the score was good. This declines to very poor in 2010-11 before recovering to good in 2016-17 and declining to moderate in 2018-19 and stays at this level to 2022-23. Lines for resilience and seagrass abundance follow a similar trend.
Figure 8.6 Australian east coast stock assessment biomass estimate, 1953 to 2022
This is a line graph showing ‘Spawning biomass ratio’ on the y-axis and ‘Financial year’ on the x-axis (ranging from 1950 to 2020). There are coloured dots along a black line that relate to key management actions.
Figure 8.7 Number of tagged loggerhead turtles nesting, Woongarra coast, 1967 to 2023
A line diagram showing the number of nesting female loggerhead turtles per year from 1967 to 2017. In the context of the period of time shown on the graph, a particularly high number of nesting turtles was recorded in 1973 with just over 600 females. Numbers gradually declined in 1983 from 400 females to under 200 females in 1989 and remained at that low level for the next few years.

9. Risks to the Region’s values

Figure 9.1 Reef residents’ perception of threats to the Great Barrier Reef
These results, from the Social and Economic Long-Term Monitoring Program survey 2021, are in response to the open-ended question: ‘What do you think are the three most serious threats to the Great Barrier Reef?’ Source: Hobman et al. 2022
Figure 9.2 Risks to the Region’s ecosystem and heritage values from identified threats
This risk matrix is consistent with the principles, framework and processes outlined in the Australian Standard (AS ISO 3100) using terms and definitions detailed in Appendix 7. The assessment is based on current and documented future trends in the identified threats and existing management measures. The compounding effects of threats are not considered. The full description of each of the identified threats is provided in Appendix 6 and the risk assessment for each threat is summarised in Appendix 8. Symbo
Figure 9.3 Summary of threats arising from factors influencing the Region’s values, and associated scale, timing and risk level
This figure links identified threats with the key factors (Chapter 6) that have the most influence on them (indicated by the black dots), either directly or indirectly. Instances where a factor is likely to only have an insignificant influence on a threat are not displayed (no dot shown). The risk level for each threat is shown, along with the scale of the risk and expected timing of the effects of the threat.
Figure 9.4 Threats with changed risk levels since 2019
Threats that have a different risk level in 2024 compared to 2019 are shown. Where the change is only related to either the ecosystem or heritage values, this is indicated.
Figure 9.5 Management effectiveness, impacts and risk associated with factors influencing the Region’s values
Grades for the impact of factors influencing the Region’s values (Chapters 5 and 6), the independent assessment of the effectiveness of current protection and management (Chapter 7), and overarching risk levels (Figure 9.2) are shown, including for component activities of direct use.

10. Long-term outlook

Figure 10.1 Summary of the findings underpinning the long-term outlook for the Region’s ecosystem and heritage values
A table describing all key findings for each chapter. These results feed into the assessment of the overall long-term outlook for the Reef
Figure 10.2 Future pathways for the Great Barrier Reef Region
This conceptual diagram shows ecosystem health on the y-axis over three time-points on the x-axis (current day, 2030 to 2050 – Possible Reef and 2050 onwards – Possible Reef) with two possible pathways for the Region to take over the next few decades.
Figure 10.3 Adaptive management cycle for the Great Barrier Reef
A diagram describing the process of adaptive management for the Great Barrier Reef. In the top left of the diagram, there is an icon of the Outlook Report with text underneath which says ‘Reviewed every 5 years’.
Figure 10.4 Current and future initiatives to improve the Region’s values and support resilience
A diagram describing the future initiatives to improve the Region’s values and support resilience.