Jul 14, 2026 · 17 min · 12 segments
Why can't you fish in a green zone? It's one of the most common questions the Reef Authority receives, and in this episode of *Reef in Focus*, we unpack the science behind the Great Barrier Reef…
Roger BeedenGuest
Lincoln BertoliHost
So green zones are one of the seven different sort of color designations of the areas of protected area network that we have that spans the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
You know, this, this park that's the size of Italy, so 344,000 square kilometers.
A third of that is in what's called green zones, and green zones desi- designate that they are locations where no fishing is allowed, so no extraction is allowed from those areas.
Other activities are allowed in that, um, space, so recreational life, but really they've been set up as areas that are actually, um, there to replenish other areas, um, by being a sort of haven for the different species that call the Great Barrier home.
So it's probably one of the common misconceptions about the reef is that the entire area is, uh, protected or no-take or off-limits.
Um, can you explain how much of the reef specifically is, um, designated green zones?
So the, the, the entire marine park is protected, but with these different levels.
Previously it was 5% of the marine park, and that's pretty important for some reasons that I know that we'll discuss in a bit more.
But that means that two-thirds of the marine park is open to fishing, recreational fishing, and there are different designations as to what you can do in each of those areas.
So green zones are one of the seven different sort of color designations of the areas of protected area network that we have that spans the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
You know, this, this park that's the size of Italy, so 344,000 square kilometers.
A third of that is in what's called green zones, and green zones desi- designate that they are locations where no fishing is allowed, so no extraction is allowed from those areas.
Other activities are allowed in that, um, space, so recreational life, but really they've been set up as areas that are actually, um, there to replenish other areas, um, by being a sort of haven for the different species that call the Great Barrier home.
So it's probably one of the common misconceptions about the reef is that the entire area is, uh, protected or no-take or off-limits.
Um, can you explain how much of the reef specifically is, um, designated green zones?
So the, the, the entire marine park is protected, but with these different levels.
Previously it was 5% of the marine park, and that's pretty important for some reasons that I know that we'll discuss in a bit more.
But that means that two-thirds of the marine park is open to fishing, recreational fishing, and there are different designations as to what you can do in each of those areas.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
