It uses a range of tools to manage the marine park including Acts and Regulations, zoning plan, plans of management, traditional owner agreements, partnerships, stewardship and best practice, education, research and monitoring and reporting.

GBRMPA is funded by Commonwealth Government appropriations and an environmental management charge levied on the permit-holders' passengers.

[4] The marine park lies east of the mainland coast of Queensland, starting in the north at Cape York.

Its southern boundary lies south of Gladstone and north of Bundaberg, taking in Lady Elliot Island.

[7] The Australian Government also has recognised the ecological significance of this Park by its inclusion in the nation's Biodiversity Action Plan.

A combination of zoning, management plans, permits, education and incentives (such as eco-tourism certification) is used in the effort to conserve the Great Barrier Reef.

As many species of the Great Barrier Reef are migratory, many international, national, and interstate conventions or pieces of legislation must be taken into account when strategies for conservation are made.

[16] As of 2006[update], the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument is the largest protected marine area in the world.

Professor Tiffany Morrison argues that this has made it easier for developments to be approved in the region.

[26] The week before 21 July 2013, on the second day of the biennial joint training exercise Talisman Saber, two American AV-8B Harrier fighter jets launched from aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) dropped four bombs, weighing a total 1.8 metric tons (4,000 pounds), into more than 50 metres (164 ft) of water.

[31] Several efforts have been made to identify and control these outbreaks, including the COTSBot developed by Queensland University of Technology.

[32] These outbreaks and subsequent threats have led to an increase in awareness and appearances in mainstream media, as industry and conservation groups try to control the COTS and protect the reef.

The marine park is intended to complement the adjoining GBRMP by the use of "similar zone objectives, and entry and use provisions".