Gillnet fishing ban to protect Great Barrier Reef

Gillnet fishing will be phased out from the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland government announced. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS)

Gillnet fishing will cease in the Great Barrier Reef area by 2027 and affected fishers compensated under a program announced by the Queensland government. 

A combined $185 million investment by the state and federal governments will phase out gillnets from the Great Barrier Reef, rezone the Great Sandy Marine Park, and increase protection from gillnet impacts in the Gulf of Carpentaria.