Barrier Reef report card released

The Chronicle -

About 28,000 kilograms of pesticides enter the Great Barrier Reef annually, a new report shows.

The overall health and water quality of the reef has been rated as moderate in the federal and Queensland governments' first report card into the reef's health.

The report, released on Friday afternoon, is based on 2008 to 2009 data and does not include the effects of Cyclone Yasi and Queensland's floods.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke said it's an important step to monitoring the impact of runoff and sediment on the reef.

The report found 14 million tonnes of sediment from human activities wash into the world's largest coral reef every year.

The greatest amount of sediment comes from cattle farms in the Burdekin and Fitzroy regions in central and north Queensland.

But the majority of the 28,000 kilograms of pesticide runoff comes from the Mackay and Whitsunday sugarcane farming region in north Queensland.

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