In 2004, the Australian Government turned a third of the Great Barrier Reef into the largest network of no-fishing zones in the world. All fishing was banned in an area of sea just smaller than England. It was a bold and controversial political move – jobs and livelihoods, it was said, were on the line. But the plan went ahead and in just a few years, there are signs that it’s working. One of the reef’s most heavily fished species – the coral trout- is enjoying a dramatic comeback, thanks to this most ambitious of marine conservation projects.

The vast expanse of the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living colony of animals on the planet and home to