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The over fishing of Coral Trout is highly evident within the Great Barrier Reef, along Queensland's North-Eastern coastline. Within the Great Barrier Reef there are 5 000 reefs, occupying an area of 230 000 square kilometers. Within this area there are a collection of thousands of reefs and small habitats as well as protected areas for fish. This is why it is necessary for mother boats to send in dories to collect the fish (Underwood, 1995).
Within the Great Barrier Reef, the Department of Primary Industries has designed different fishing zones, through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Each zone has a specific limit as to how many fish are allowed to be taken. One of these zones is called the "Green" zone and within this zone, there is no fishing what so ever. Despite the inclusion of these specific fishing zones within the Great Barrier Reef, there are still a number of boats fishing within the restricted areas in addition to the already extensive extraction of this species when one considers the life span of these fish.
Why is it occurring?.
There are a number of reasons for the increase in fishing of the Coral Trout over the years. Like all other technologies in the world, there has been a development. Within the fishing industry there has been a development in:.
• The assessabling of fishing boats, i.e. the size of the boats and engines and the materials with which these parts are made.
• The size of fishing boats, allowing for more fish to be stored aboard.
• Scanning devices or fish trackers as used by fishers to find schools of fish .
• The size of the nets that boats are now able to carry.
• Holding tanks aboard boats, allowing fish to stay alive longer and remain fresher.
(Codrington & Scott, 1996).
These improved fishing conditions have allowed an increase in the number of fish capable of being caught per boat, as well as encouraged an increase in the number of people purchasing boats, as boats have become more affordable.
