The Queensland election must be a referendum on the future of the Great Barrier Reef, which is under immense pressure, a conservation group says.
The group has written to Premier Anna Bligh and Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman demanding tougher policies on pollution and damaging fishing practices.
A failure to act risks the ongoing demise of the World Heritage listed asset, it says.
'There are over 700 reefs on the Great Barrier Reef that are at risk from land-based pollution, such as mud and pesticides from coastal farms,' WWF's Great Barrier Reef national manager Nick Heath said in a statement.
'More than 1000 turtles have washed up along the coast over the past year after their food sources were smothered by sediment.
'And we continue to see dolphins, turtles and dugongs getting entangled and drowning in fishing nets used near the shore.'
It says more money must be pumped into reducing pollution on the reef by encouraging better farming practices.
It also wants tougher fishing controls in sensitive habitats, and more to be done to save turtles and dugongs from illegal poachers.
The major parties have also been asked to set up fund, with money from the mining boom, to invest in reef resilience programs.
'Queensland's tourism industry and regional communities need a healthy reef, and our world class marine environment deserves the best level of protection we can provide,' Mr Heath said.
A team from the UN environmental arm, UNESCO, is due to visit Queensland next month to assess what the Queensland and federal governments are doing to protect the reef.
It will report to the World Heritage Committee on all threats posed to the reef, including cumulative impacts new development proposals may have on the universal value of the reef.
The visit came after UNESCO last year rebuked the federal government for failing to inform it of approvals for LNG projects inside the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.
It expressed 'extreme concern' about the Queensland and Australian governments' backing of LNG processing plants at Gladstone, which has been plagued by sick fish and other marine life.
Gladstone fishers have claimed the Gladstone Ports Corporation's LNG related dredging project is to blame and want the state government to buy back their fishing licences.
About 60 local fishermen and business owners have launched a $20 million compensation claim for income losses caused by the expanding LNG industry.
An independent scientific panel set up by the Queensland government has so far not been able to find a definitive cause of the illness affecting marine life, but has suggested last year's floods is a likely factor.
