The authority charged with looking after the Great Barrier Reef admits climate change should have featured more heavily in the government's protection plan for coming decades.
Climate change is believed to be one of the biggest threats to the world's largest coral ecosystem but scientists have criticised the Reef 2050 Plan for largely ignoring the issue.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chief Russell Reichelt admitted the impacts of climate change could have been clearer in the plan.
"I feel the climate change issue was addressed but not in a way that I think was publicly appreciated," he told a Senate committee on Monday.
Its "critical importance" should be made clearer in any revised documents.
"I strongly support maximum visibility of the issue of climate change in terms of its effects on coral reefs and the Great Barrier Reef," Dr Reichelt said.
Reef expert Professor Terry Hughes has previously said it beggars belief a plan for the next 35 years can ignore necessary actions to reduce risks from global warming.
The latest Great Barrier Reef outlook report listed climate change as one of the greatest threats to the long-term health of the reef.
The plan has also been criticised for setting water quality targets unachievable with the level of allocated funding.
Dr Reichelt admits those targets are ambitious.
"But I think stretch targets are a powerful tool," he said.
"It wasn't a surprise to me to have commentators say that the targets are difficult ones."
Dr Reichelt said reduced water quality due to sediment flow from farms was a critical risk to the reef.
"What we need is to improve our feedback to the farmers and get that behaviour change," he said.
