The impacts of coral and shell collecting - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 146

shells of the quality used, without the taking of live material. During a cruise
to a neighbouring island, the suspicious behaviour of two craft near the edge
of a reef, suggested poaching of coral and associated life, particularly when
they quickly weighed anchor and steamed off, out of rang e. 30
As a result of that extensive over-collection and poaching of shells, the author
concluded that 'we are certain that it has already had repercussions' on the health
of the reefs at Heron and North West Islands.
In response, the management of the Heron Island resort acknowledged the
cumulative degradation occurring to shell populations. He stated:
I agree with the submissions of the Secretary of the Club in regard to the
gradual depreciations of coastal and marine life, which occurs to a small
degree rather constantly, and which [are] a source of continual worry to us.
[...] As you know, guests frequently endeavour to take with them a souvenir
of their stay, and it is the cumulative effect of this over a period of time
which is our major worry. It is possible that certain guests, who would be
very few in number, endeavour to obtain material for trading, but I can stress
most strongly that this is not countenanced by the Management, and in any
cases occurring within our knowledge, we take all action possible to prevent
it. The inclination of guests to obtain a souvenir is our principal reason for
maintaining a supply of trinkets in the Canteen, but we would point out that
the entire supply of items for this purpose is obtained from Cooktown and
North Queensland . 31
Further concerns were expressed to E. M. Hanlon, Premier of Queensland, by
the Honorary Secretary of the National Parks Association of Queensland, who
acknowledged 'the gravity of the position regarding the Barrier Reef natural
resources and wonders', including shell populations, since these resources were
being 'stripped bare'. Despite the prohibition of shell collecting, the same author
claimed that Mrs Cain, the wife of the Premier of Victoria, had stayed recently at a
Great Barrier Reef resort and had brought back a 'marvellous collection of shells '. 32
The most heavily impacted shell collecting locations were probably the Heron
Island, Wistari and Green Island reefs, despite their status as totally protected
reefs, because those reefs were the ones most commonly visited by tourists.
Subsequently, however, vulnerable areas also included other coral cays within
easy reach of the main Queensland ports as regular shelling trips to locations
such as Michaelmas and Arlington reefs were organised by shell clubs and were
widely advertised (Ladd, 1970, p56). In addition, the depletion of shells was also
concentrated in those areas that surrounded protected reefs, but which were
easily accessible from the resorts. Julie Booth, who observed the impacts of shell-
collectors at Fairfax Island in 1969, stated that visitors from the tourist resort at
Lady Musgrave Island 'spend the day here, combing the reef for shells', because
shell collecting was prohibited at the reef at Lady Musgrave Island; she reported