ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters have described historical human impacts on marine turtles and dugongs, which are comparatively well-researched, charismatic megafauna of the Great Barrier Reef and its adjacent waters. In contrast, impacts on some other marine wildlife species in the region are less known. This chapter focuses on historical impacts on some types of whale, shark and fish, although some of those impacts can be reconstructed only partially, due to the paucity of records. While several species of cetaceans are found in the GBRWHA, comparatively little is known about those animals and, even in the year 2000, the population sizes of all species except for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeanglia) were unknown (GBRMPA, 2000). This chapter describes the humpback whale fishery in the Great Barrier Reef, for which some documentary evidence illuminates the period 1952–1962. The humpback whales found in the Great Barrier Reef migrate between feeding grounds in Antarctic waters and breeding areas in coastal Queensland; along parts of the Queensland coast, their migration routes bring the animals close to the shore. In those places, the animals are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts from the adjacent coast. Furthermore, the species is characterised by a long-lived, slow-reproducing life history, with high investment by lactating cows in their calves. Those characteristics impose additional vulnerability on the species in Queensland waters where cows and calves are susceptible to human impacts. GBRMPA (2000) identified numerous anthropogenic impacts on cetaceans, including commercial whaling, harassment, vessel strikes, entanglement in nets, ingestion of litter, underwater explosions, pollution (including noise pollution), disease, live capture and habitat degradation. In addition to historical impacts on humpback whales, this chapter also briefly considers some of the major impacts on sharks and fish in the Great Barrier Reef, although both of those subjects require more detailed, dedicated investigation.
