Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Deep-Water Inter-Reef

The Reef Authority's 2050 plan and QLD fisheries identified a critical need for information on key fish species and communities in under-surveyed areas of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Funding through the reef trust partnership was distributed by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to AIMS to lead a 3-tiered, highly collaborative Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (IMR) with the goal of providing better data that can be used for stakeholders. One of these tiers focused on obtaining data on the deep-water inter-reef habitats of the GBR. Legacy data from AIMS, fisheries data and known habitat models of the GBR were used to select candidate sites for monitoring fish along all 3 major latitudinal regions of the GBR. These sites were surveyed using multibeam sonar to identify features, resulting in 36 target sites to develop baselines for future monitoring to be repeated over two years. Using the multibeam data, a spatially balanced sampling design was then developed to survey the selected areas using Baited Remote Underwater Video. 1545 stereo-BRUV drops were completed within the 36 sites over a two-year period. Multibeam derivatives, environmental covariates, and benthic habitat classification has been extracted and linked to the site metadata. Data will be analysed for key fish species (commercial, recreational, conservation and cultural importance) and fish community relative abundance, taking a focused look at how zoning and remoteness influences populations and size of individuals.