Reef authority backs five-yearly reviews

The chairwoman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has welcomed recommendations the authority be reviewed every five years.

The Federal Government has made the recommendations in its review of the authority, which also recommends GBRMPA's headquarters remain in Townsville, in north Queensland.

Virginia Chadwick says the report will put an end to criticism of the authority's management processes.

"That will contain science on the state of the reef, it will contain lots of other information and that will be publicly available and hopefully that puts to bed the debate that happens from time to time about whether there is sufficient science for management decisions," she said.

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council says it is relieved management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park will not be stifled by more layers of bureaucracy after the review.

It supports the review's recommendations that a third of the reef remain closed to fishing, with zonings to stay the same for at least seven years.

Recreational fishing representatives have cautiously welcomed the Federal Governments review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act.

The Government's review recommends that there be no increase in the size or number of green zones.

Sunfish spokesman Vern Veitch says he would have preferred a re-evaluation of the green zones.

"We missed opportunities to provide better protection for some areas and there were other areas that were protected that didn't need protection," he said.

"It would have been nice to re-run the previous zoning procedure, but that's not realistic at this point in time and we've just got to accept what we've got."