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| Land based pollution such as pesticides,
herbicides, fertilizers and other nutrients and sediment
runoff from agricultural and grazing lands adjacent
to the Great Barrier Reef pose a threat to many inshore
reefs. |
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| Destructive fishing practices such
as seafloor trawling kills many non ‘target’ animals,
for example for every ton of prawns caught, 6-10 tonnes
of other marine life is caught and either returned
dead or injured. |
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| Climate change is a major threat
to the Great Barrier Reef. In 1998, 16% of the world’s
coral reefs died as a result of increased temperatures
and coral bleaching, and the Great Barrier Reef was
badly affected by this.
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| Coastal development and over clearing
of lands leads to sedimentation of inshore reef systems.
68% of coastal wetlands have been drained and in filled. |
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| Large numbers of Crown of Thorn
Starfish that eat coral is an ongoing threat that may
be brought about by increased nutrient enrichment. |
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| Humans can directly affect the
reef by walking on corals, dropping boat anchors on
coral or breaking pieces of coral off while scuba diving.
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| Shipping poses a threat to the
Great Barrier Reef. Large ships have run aground on
the barrier reef and the potential for oil pollution
from such an impact is high.
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| Overfishing of some species in
areas of the Great Barrier Reef is a major concern.
Only a small percentage of the reef is fully protected
from over fishing and some species such as the coral
trout are fished very heavily.
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| Pollution such as plastic bags,
discarded fishing line and nets and household pollutants
such as detergents, disinfectants and oils make their
way out to the reef where animals either eat them,
are caught in them or their health is affected.
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| Removal of sea grass beds that
provide Juvenile fish habitats & food reserves
for different marine animals are under pressure from
anchor damage, trawler damage and onshore development. |
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