Posted December 09, 2014 11:34:48

A Queensland researcher says Federal Government funding will enable studies into water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.

The $31 million package will fund a Tropical Water Quality Hub, with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO and four universities to carry out studies.

Professor John Rolfe from CQUniversity said the research would also look into possible solutions.

"A lot of sediment load into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and a lot of nutrient movement from fertiliser so what the emphasis is on is working with landholders to change management practices because the better management practices, more conservative management practices are generally good for farm incomes but also reduce the loads to the reef," he said.

Professor Rolfe said the research would look into how infrastructure, agriculture and extreme weather had affected the reef.

"Looking at water quality in tropical waters but particularly at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef," he said.

"The other is getting to the pointy end of making decisions.

"So we're going to be be involved in a lot of the economic work which is about, once the science is done, looking at some of the management solutions to it and working out which are the best ones to prioritise."

Topics: great-barrier-reef, programs-and-initiatives, oceans-and-reefs, water, research, research-organisations, qld, cairns-4870, townsville-4810, mackay-4740, rockhampton-4700