An assessment of residence times of land-sourced contaminants in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and the implications for management and reef recovery

► We analyse residence times of major pollutants in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. ► Pollutant residence times are much longer than those of the water mass. ► We invalidate conclusions about pollutant effects based on water residence times. ► Implications of residence times and time lags for management are discussed.