The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. Designated a World Heritage Area, it has been subject to increasing pressures from tourism, fishing, pollution and climate change, and is now protected as a marine park. This book provides an original account of the environmental history of the Great Barrier Reef, based on extensive archival and oral history research.

1. Introduction 2. Reconstructing Changes in the Great Barrier Reef 3. The Natural Context of Changes in the Great Barrier Reef 4. The Historical Context of Changes in the Great Barrier Reef 5. The bêche-de-mer, Pearl-shell and Trochus Fisheries 6. Impacts on Marine Turtles 7. Impacts on Dugongs 8. Impacts on Whales, Sharks and Fish 9. The Impacts of Coral and Shell Collecting 10. The Impacts of Guano and Rock Phosphate Mining 11. The Impacts of Coral Mining 12. Other Impacts on Coral Reefs 13. Changes in Island Biota 14. Conclusion

Ben Daley is Lecturer in Environmental Management in the Centre for Development, Environment and Policy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK. He was previously a researcher at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Australia.